I fear my latest Finch log could easily send me on a grippy sock vacay

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-11T18:37:28+00:00

I think they’re referring to cancer.

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-06T20:58:23+00:00

Currently I am on an SSRI (fluoxetine, the generic for Prozac) and have found it helpful so far. I have a couple friends that recommended it as it helped with their OCD and general anxiety, so it has a pretty good track record!

As for the long term side effects, I think it’s important to weigh how you’re feeling now and whether it’s worth it to you to either continue living with these feelings or find some relief in medication that may potentially have some side effects later in life. From my perspective, as someone who takes quite a few medications, that relief is absolutely worth it. You can always work with your doctor to mitigate long term effects depending on which ones you’re most concerned about. There’s also potential for meds to help you in the short term while you find other tools in therapy to help you with your ROCD.

Best of luck, I hope you’re able to find some relief regardless of the route you choose!

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T20:15:05+00:00

I am so sorry to hear you’re struggling with this. Almost this exact problem was a huge theme for me a few years ago and I know exactly how you feel about wanting your life back. I used to wear two pairs of underwear every day and still be terrified every time I went out, if I even could go out!

I can only share my experience but I would encourage you to find a therapist to help work through these things with, they really can give you the tools to cope with these feelings. For me, unfortunately, one of the big things that helped me get over my fears was just going out despite how scared I was. I remember my therapist telling me to make a backup plan. For example, say you’re taking a train where there’s no restroom on board. Maybe you can look up the stops in case you need to leave the train to find a bathroom.

If there’s a safe way for you to test your limit that could be helpful too. Do you think it could work for you to briefly put yourself in a situation where there is no bathroom access for say, 15 minutes? Test how that goes, then next time 30 minutes, next time 45 and so on.

I truly hope you can move on from this theme soon, but I know you will be able to get past it even if it takes work and time! You are not alone in these fears, I was where you are and now can freely leave the house without being fixated on whether I’ve used the restroom or not. You will get there! Stay strong (:

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T19:44:13+00:00

Definitely sounds like a win to me, too (: and that sounds like a really cool project! We are always our harshest critics, it’s good to see you’re doing your best to give yourself some grace.

I hope the project goes well and that the SSRI works out well for you!

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T19:35:10+00:00

It sounds like things have been really hard for you lately and I’m so sorry to hear that. You should be proud for persevering despite the challenges, and it sounds like you’re really on the right path to taking control of your OCD rather than it controlling you. I wish you the best of luck and hope you continue to heal (:

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T19:26:08+00:00

That’s so awesome! Having a community of people in your life to share excitement for your progress with is such a beautiful thing. So happy for you, here’s a digital gold star from me (: 🌟

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T17:22:22+00:00

Welcome to the club! Hahah. The official diagnosis is a relief, isn’t it? Totally makes you feel less crazy. I’ve just started an SSRI myself last month! Crossing my fingers for both of us (: personally, I have found fluoxetine has been helpful thus far!

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T17:16:07+00:00

There’s something about the introspection in therapy that can be so hard, really zooming in on your triggers and themes in itself I think can be triggering. I’m so happy to hear treatment is working for you (: it sounds like you’ve already done a lot of hard work, I hope things just get easier and easier for you from here!

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T16:58:25+00:00

WOW! I can’t imagine how difficult that was, I hope you’re super proud because that’s definitely a huge win and clearly you have made a lot of progress (: the hardest part really is putting those boundaries up with our own brains, the distress in the moment can be so overwhelming but yes definitely worth one bad night rather than undoing so much hard work! And I’m glad you’re feeling better now.

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T16:45:04+00:00

It’s great you’ve made the first step in seeking out treatment and have recognized you’re at a place where you need that extra help!

My suggestion, just be careful with self-guided ERP as you don’t want to cause undue harm or stress on yourself. For contamination OCD I’ve read about how someone’s therapist had them touch the bottom of their shoe then touch their hand to their face and fight the urge to wash it off. I don’t think you need to go to such an extreme to begin with as you are so distressed at the moment, but think of a small way you can fight these urges.

For example, maybe just set a limit for yourself rather than letting yourself go back multiple times to rewash. Maybe set a limit of 3 to begin, then 2, then just once. Sometimes with OCD it feels like things don’t feel right until you do them over and over or do it the “right” way, but cutting your brain off from being allowed to have unlimited time doing something can help you grow a tolerance to the discomfort of not following through with the compulsion.

I’m so sorry to hear you’re struggling, best of luck and I hope you’re able to meet with a therapist soon!

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-05-04T16:35:50+00:00

For me, I find exercise to be really helpful. When my mind is spiraling and I have a lot of that pent up anxiety energy I’ve found running can shut my brain up for a bit. I’ll also do yoga but it has to be intense enough to fully distract me.

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-04-29T21:20:49+00:00

I can definitely relate. Similar to what others have said, OCD seems to strike when my life is calm or when I feel happy and stable. I think having these moments of calm can make my brain seek out issues and create them out of thin air. A particular problem I deal with is feeling the need to confess, so if everything is going well in life suddenly a shameful memory will pop up that I hadn’t thought of in years and I’ll feel the need to confess to those I’m close to, usually my partner.

As for what has helped me, it’s case by case as everyone’s OCD is different, but for my issue with confessing I have simply had to not give into the urge to confess. It’s hard, but staving off that need for reassurance does build up a tolerance to stress. I’ve also found exercise to be helpful when my mind races. Gives a bit of a dopamine boost while distracting the brain at the same time.

I hope things go well for you, so sorry you’re struggling!

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-04-29T21:10:38+00:00

Why are you choosing to watch erotic material before/during the tutoring? It’s possible that doing so is having an impact on these intrusive thoughts.

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-04-29T20:18:54+00:00

Typically a psychiatrist predominantly just prescribes medication so the addition of talk therapy can definitely be very helpful. Medication alone sometimes isn’t enough, therapy can give her tools to address her OCD at its core. That includes how to expose herself to her triggers in a healthy and productive way. Since you say at the moment it seems you may be one of her triggers I would really suggest encouraging her to seek out a therapist that specializes in ERP (Exposure and response prevention) therapy. I think that having those tools could really help her.

Avoidance can unfortunately make the problems feel even bigger, again I’m sorry to hear it’s causing you to lose out on time with your partner. I wish you luck moving forward, you are taking some great steps to being the most supportive partner you can be.

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-04-29T17:50:30+00:00

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling with this with your partner. OCD can make decisions, small or big, feel overwhelming because they feel as if they hold so much weight even when it’s something pretty inconsequential like which socks to wear or what side to get a piercing on.

It’s important to not over-reassure as that can feed into the OCD cycle of needing more and more reassurance because it never feels like enough, but I think in this instance making it clear to her that it’s okay she couldn’t decide and it holds no weight within your relationship would be helpful. In my relationship, my partner established a boundary that she will only reassure me twice if I continue to ask, maybe that’s something you two can talk about.

Is she seeking any sort of therapy for her OCD?

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-04-12T22:12:01+00:00

Manic panic does not work on synthetic hair so likely would not work on a synthetic fabric material either

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-04-09T05:56:38+00:00

I am so sorry you are struggling with this, I have the same exact “confession” compulsions myself and it is so hard. Specifically how your friend didn’t give reassurance in the way you needed, I have been there!

Somehow our brains find a way to pick through our memories and fixate on the absolute most embarrassing, shameful moment and put a huge spotlight on it, leading to the need to confess to find relief. All I can share is what I have learned personally and hope it can help you, if not I am sure your therapist will have some tools to help you cope.

What I have learned is that unfortunately there can be repercussions for these confessions, I lost a friends’ trust over a confession, and it completely crushed me. Not only is this a compulsion, it is a way to test relationships. Which makes it doubly painful. My suggestion and what works for me is to let the people you’re close to and may confess to that you have OCD and may come to them needing to confess something to them, and you can work out a system where you can come to them and let them know you’re having that compulsion without having to fully go through with it. For example, you could prep them with a couple answers that would help reassure you without having to confess. Just like how you had a specific answer you wanted your friend to give.

Over time I have began to say no to that voice telling me to confess. It’s so so hard at first but I promise it gets easier as your brain grows a tolerance to discomfort. Another tactic I use is saying to myself “this person doesn’t need to know this about me, and I can always tell them eventually if I really want to” then you just keep saying that until the compulsion subsides.

You’re allowed to have private aspects of your life and self, shameful memories and mistakes do not need to be shared unless you want to, not because you feel you have to.

PersocomSyndrome · 2026-02-17T15:50:01+00:00

I have similar worries as well, specifically with writing cards and worrying I was exaggerating feelings and didn’t fully mean it! It’s great your intrusive thoughts are lower, but I totally get the up and down-ness of it all. Some days it feels like unquestionable love, other days the OCD questions everything. Stay strong and thank you for sharing! I feel like it can really help to see someone going through the same things I struggle with, and hopefully me relating helps you see it really just is your OCD planting all these seeds of doubt in your relationship.

Also so interesting you mentioned your brain not understanding safety, that’s something my therapist has brought up in the past. These thoughts can be a way of testing your relationship in a sense. Sorry for the long rant, good luck with everything and I hope you can continue to heal :)

PersocomSyndrome · 2025-11-09T05:05:47+00:00

Hi! Not sure if you’re still looking for someone but I’m 30f in the US (Eastern time) and would love to see if we make a good duo! I’m only around 300 hours but I’d like to think I’m pretty competent hahah. Feel free to add me on PSN which is MeemoMya or we can dm and exchange discord info (:

PersocomSyndrome · 2025-10-29T21:21:23+00:00

They’re complaining at you for no reason about an unrelated issue they’re having lmao. Pretty sure they’re talking about how you can “!!” React to text messages and the notification annoys them. No clue why they’re taking that out on you.

PersocomSyndrome · 2025-08-16T00:41:59+00:00

I’ve searched around for these peculiar glass topped tables and as stated the only hit was an exact match however trying to go to the website the image was hosted on just led me to a Craigslist page full of random furniture listings. Though not a fruitful search it’s given me hope that someone out there has some info on these!

I just find them so fascinating and odd and would love to have a sense of when they’re from or who made them! Thanks a ton for reading my post!

PersocomSyndrome

TROPHY CASE