Conquering OCD is within your reach

Hospitalized to Conqueror in 7 months

September 1st, 2024 I was hospitalized for the first time for my OCD. It changed my life. I have had OCD since I was 7 years old, though it took til I was much older to be diagnosed with it. Even after being diagnosed I didn't fully understand it and my life was manageable. On August 28th, 2024 I was watching a YouTube video when they mentioned gore sites (if you are triggered, just remember maybe you'll see a gore site maybe you won't, and sit with the uncertainty!). This triggered me into a downward spiral where I felt like my skin was burning, refused to use my laptop, refused to have a browser on my phone, was terrified I would microwave my cat, could not eat, and had images flashing in my head of anything gruesome my mind could muster. This went on until I was begging to be admitted into the behavioral health center near me (3 days). I then stayed there and was put on a new medication and doped up so much that I was half asleep. I was there for 4 days. I was then put into a partial hospitalization program and this made me worse again because it was providing me with both proper OCD coping mechanism and improper ones. The unfortunate part is I was still in my episode and the proper ones wouldn't help because I wasn't taught how to do them starting at lower distress obsessions. 2 weeks after being released, I was rehospitalized. This time I stayed for 11 days. During this time my medication was upped again, and I was getting better. Tbh the phone detox helped so much, anyways. After this I went back to php and it helped so much. I was ready to hear what they had to say and took it to heart! Around the same time, I connected with NOCD as recommended by my psychiatrist. This is when I was once again diagnosed with OCD and was for the first time diagnosed with PTSD. I was overjoyed with my diagnosis. It explained everything that my OCD did not and from there I began the journey of being treated for both OCD and PTSD through NOCD. I also went through an intensive outpatient program for my PTSD but NOCD is what helped me the most. Fast forward to now... Almost 8 months after I was first admitted and I am a conquerer!!! NOCD and ERP are so so worth it and help. It's hard, I'm not going to lie and say it's easy, but it is so worth it and will permanently help. Compulsions only help temporarily and make you worse. Sit with that discomfort folks and grow stronger! You got this! 💪💪💪💪

Getting the Right Care

It has been the worst year of my life and I really thought I wasn’t going to make it. Last summer I had an OCD attack that would last almost 8 months after quitting birth control pills while in Hawaii on vacation. My husband flew me home and I locked myself in my room with fear of doing the horrible thoughts I had. I had no idea it was OCD until my husband came across it while researching. My life fell apart and I could barely function-eat, sleep, and even watch TV. My very supportive family put me in a partial hospitalization program that ended up making me worse. The program claimed to have an OCD track however I found myself being told to continue my compulsions of ruminating and figuring out how I felt about every thought. Not once did they do ERP effectively. Instead I would be given “thought changing” reflection sheets to analyze my thoughts when they did indeed not matter. After a month, I decided to leave. My husband found NOCD and the best therapist I have ever come across.I thank God for her every day! I have slowly come back to life- I still have a lot of work to do but I am feeling so much better. ERP is the best thing that ever happened even though it sucked so much. If you are doubtful about therapy because of past wrongful therapy, know that you will be taken care of here.

So much progress!

It took years for me to finally seek out therapy, and I am so glad I finally did. I have made so much progress, and my life is so much more enjoyable. I have increased confidence in myself and my actions. I am less worried about everything in daily life. I have more independence. I still have OCD, but it’s definitely not as bad as before. I’m so thankful I started therapy.

i never really conquered ocd lol

tbh i only have this ocd conqueror badge bc it popped up on my page and i accepted it. ocd is still very present in my life

You can do it!

Omg it has been a JOURNEY! I honestly never saw myself here. I was at the lowest I’ve ever been in my life when I started NOCD. I was on the highest dose of Prozac and just when I thought I was seeing some glimpses of light the dark would take over again. I had a hard time even admitting I had OCD, it felt like a cop out. But I truly feel like a different person today and NOCD and my therapist are the reason for that. I’m coming down off of my medication with the guidance of my psychiatrist and so far I’m doing well. I’m so grateful. If I can do this you can too!

Celebrating healing today 🫶🏻

Today in my session, my therapist told me she got a notification that I’m “an OCD conqueror.” I didn’t know what that meant, but apparently all of my symptom scores have gone down significantly since starting therapy with NOCD. We took some time to review my progress and it really is amazing how far I’ve come. I’ve had OCD since I was young but didn’t deal with it until it became completely debilitating last January. At that time, every part of every day was torture. I ended up in an intensive outpatient therapy program focused on ERP. When I started ERP, I was unsure if it would help and the exposures were so incredibly difficult. But I’m happy to say that it has saved my life and been worth the temporary pain of exposures. I can now do things I haven’t been able to do since I was in elementary school. I wish I had gotten help sooner. Sharing my story in case it helps someone ❤️and as a little exposure for myself as well. We can do hard things!!!

I didn’t think I could do it.

I feel empowered and less fearful. I’ve gotten to a point where I can for the most part allow the intrusive thoughts to just float on by. I’m grateful for my therapist for walking me through the process and giving me the tools necessary to be able to live my life again.

OCD is A Journey

OCD is a journey. There is no linear path, no one stop shop, no one remedy fits all. It takes a lot of work to reconnect with who you know you are when your brain is telling you that you are someone else. The erp strategies at times may seem simple and others may seem too hard but I just wanted to let you all know that they worked for me. It was hard, very hard. Sometimes my ocd even tried to tell me I was being a loser for being scared of the things it was affirming I should be scared of. This condition is convoluted, latches on to so many themes, and doesn’t discriminate. When you’re starting to feel better you can sometimes even feel it trying to latch on to something else, this is where erp is super important because you’ll be healing from your current theme, not be at a session, and it will try to attack a different value. I just wanted to say that it is possible to heal, it is possible to thrive, it is possible to live with OCD. Take it one day at a time when you can and don’t forget to be super intentional about your healing. Keep your head up, you’ve got this!

Yay I’m officially a conqueror! 🙌

So grateful for ERP

Highlight of my day…

Grateful to NOCD and my therapist Barbara Zelop for giving me the structure to get my time and life back from OCD.

Still a work in progress…

I now have a freedom I have no had in a very long time. Through ERP I learned my brain’s need for “certainty” and my safety behaviors were a lie and I could either live in the land of freedom or constantly searching for the guarantees in life that just don’t exist :). I also learned that allowing my 4 children to have some discomfort in life is not necessarily a bad thing, and that this just helps them grow. I am not a failure if they get sick. I am a human.

Conqueror!!!

I genuinely cried when I saw this. In the thick of it OCD truly makes you feel like you’ve made almost NO progress and this right here is a testament to my hard work and determination🥹🤍

It Gets Better🫶🏻

As someone who never posts, here it goes- I’ve been on this journey for over 4 years after being diagnosed. It’s not linear, it’s hard, it’s really hard. I’ve conquered so much in therapy and have been able to shift my mindset so much that my scores have drastically decreased and I’m living an amazing life. To anyone who’s struggling please know it gets better!!!!!!

ERP Works

Just wanted to post and say ERP works and although it is so terrifying, it truly can change things for you

I'm shocked!!

I can't believe it, I became an OCD Conquer!! It's still a work in progress but I didn't think I was going to get here so quickly! Here's your friendly reminder to never give up! We all deserve to be OCD Conquers!!

Healing is 100% possible!

Healing is not only 💯 % possible. Healing puts you in a better place than you were before your OCD went beast mode. You’ll acquire a peaceful mind. Keep fighting warriors! ⚔️ ☮️

At last.

❤️

Take that OCD!

I have improved so much and I feel so much better since starting therapy! I am so grateful for my therapist Anna. She was so non-judgmental and always believed in me. There is still work to do, but now I know I can do it. Woohoo!

If I can do it, you can do it!

Joining NOCD and working with my therapist here has been the best decision I’ve made to progress on my journey. If I can do it, you can do it!

Guysss

Omg I've thought about this moment for so long! The moment I would become an OCD conqueror! I'm crying tears of joy. If you're in a tough place keep going, you can do it! I feel so blessed💕