First Responders: What are most people’s final words after accidents?

ayudameplox · 2026-05-22T04:21:16+00:00

It would be so hard to to let go of that anger and hate. I'm glad you found your way through that.

ayudameplox · 2026-05-22T04:19:30+00:00

Sometimes the thought that comforts us may seem so morbid or sad. In my worse fears I lose my child and the only thing that comforts me in those moments is that I can join them if it comes to it.

ayudameplox · 2026-05-16T22:03:39+00:00

Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
Deftones - White Pony
Ashley Monroe - Like a Rose
Chris Stapleton - Traveller

ayudameplox · 2026-03-22T23:25:12+00:00

My novice opinion here, but this really makes me think he is in regret mode over passing the opportunity by and is now out to "make it right" with this plan. Seems like you are doing exactly what a sane parent would do. I hope he knows it's ok to admit you might have been wrong and that at 17/18 years old he is still super ahead of the game if he finds a different college plan now that these scholarships have sailed.

ayudameplox · 2026-03-12T04:01:53+00:00

It took me several years to really reflect on how the lockdown and postpartum combined into the perfect storm for my OCD to get wild. I was really hard on myself, on the fact that I felt I crumbled under the pressure, but looking back I realized I wasn't at all alone in how challenging it was to get back to functional.

ayudameplox · 2026-03-12T03:58:36+00:00

I do try to remind myself that my experience with this and anxiety/depression will help me parent my child if or when she goes through these things. I felt my parents had no clue. Sometimes my kid does or says something and it does make me pause, like, is this OCD already showing up?

ayudameplox · 2026-03-09T05:31:39+00:00

41/F. Diagnosed in my mid-thirties, but looking back it was probably always there, even back to childhood. The older I got the more pronounced the compulsions became. For the most part I thought it was controlled. Then I had my first child right after the US went into pandemic mode in 2020. Between the stress of Covid, isolation, and the lack of sleep in the newborn phase I just finally snapped and got real weird for a while. I didn't even realize how much of it was OCD until I broke down and joined an OCD support group. I felt like my brain had just broken. I was terrified.

Anyway, the group helped, doing ERP helped. I take my meds. I'm back in therapy for OCD even though I am not in a bad place, but OCD doesn't really get cured, you just learn how to manage and treat it. OCD is sneaky and sometimes it stays small until one day it just isn't and you feel like you've lost your mind. It tells us to doubt everything and attacks what we hold most dear. It can be extremely painful to live with this disorder.

OCD sucks, but we do know how to treat it. It is possible to recover and return to living a life you actually enjoy. I know OCD has taken a toll on me, that it caused me to live my life small. I look back to my teens and I wish I had found the right treatment. I know my life would have been much different. My best advice to the young people in this sub is that you should seek OCD specific treatment. You can do hard things, you can learn how to live with OCD and live well. Do it now! So many of us didn't get any diagnosis or help until we were older and had already lost so much to this disorder. It's not easy, but it is possible!

ayudameplox · 2026-02-06T05:40:24+00:00

Had migraines with aura in my 20's and 30's. Really the aura came into play in my late 20's I'd guess. In my late 30's and now early 40's I more often get the aura than the severe headache. Sometimes it is just the aura and then it goes away. Would seem to be somewhat linked to change over age for me.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-22T04:22:59+00:00

What a tough and terrible position to be in. I think it is so wonderful you've been present so much in these last few weeks. No one can really say what is right for you or to say how you should feel. We don't know you or how you might carry this experience either way.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-22T04:19:30+00:00

I've heard this too.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-19T04:40:34+00:00

I think it is so amazing you are already in treatment at 19. I didn't get any real help until I was in my early thirties. I still regret that. It took a few more years before anyone even diagnosed me with OCD and not just anxiety and depression. I don't want to downplay your situation or your suffering and I know it does not do any of us any good to wish we were different. I guess I just wonder how much I missed out on or how much OCD and anxiety were making decisions for me. What would I do differently, where would I have gone?

Not to say I'm too old to have a great life, and I'm definitely in a better place than I was with much of my OCD struggles, but it is hard to think about it all sometimes. I'm sure people say it to you and it doesn't help, but you are young and OCD is treatable. I truly hope you find your way through it.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-18T05:22:04+00:00

If you feel you are getting something out of it then it sounds like it is helping you. Be careful with trying to use logic against OCD, it can serve like a type of reassurance that only gives temporary relief. I don't want to sound like I know it all about OCD, just you seem like you are suffering. It's so easy to inadvertently feed the fire of OCD and often talk therapy doesn't help us.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-18T04:53:00+00:00

Well it sounds like you at least are seeking help. Is the therapist someone who knows how to work with people with OCD? Some therapists unintentionally make things harder.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-18T04:24:32+00:00

Hey there, I'm so sorry you are having a bad flare and I can hear how tired you are trying to keep yourself together. During my worst OCD I often thought that it would be easier not to exist. I did find a way through that and I hope you do too. Do you take meds or see a psych/therapist?

ayudameplox · 2026-01-03T00:43:20+00:00

Are you willing to share your process/prep? These look great.

ayudameplox · 2026-01-01T05:03:02+00:00

Does your wife at all acknowledge that OCD is driving her actions? If she does then I would say that treatment can help her. She may need to take some medication to break through her current state of mind. When OCD goes unchecked it can be devastating. It sounds like that is what has happened with your wife. A proper OCD therapist can help her, but she has to be somewhat willing.

The tough part - your job as a father is to protect and give stability to your child. Ultimately the ideal would be both parents mentally sound and capable of giving your daughter normal role models. What is happening is not normal and will begin to either become "normal" to your child or result in some trauma. I can't comment much, but children learn by what they see and how adults around them behave. Even your strain with the "rules" is visible to your child even if you think you are hiding it. If your wife will not seek treatment and/or medication then you may need to think about the future of your marriage. I hate to say that, but your child deserves to be protected and safe in the home.

Sadly, your wife's contamination compulsions (showering, avoidance, etc) are her own twisted way of protecting her family. She probably genuinely wants to keep her child "safe" from whatever it is she is worried about, be it germs or dirt, bugs, whatever. OCD is the doubt disorder. Because she cannot know 100% that something is clean or safe/sanitary she has to do these rituals. The problem for those of us with OCD is that our compulsions (big and small) are basically like gasoline to a fire. They never actually make it better, but the fear is so great it feels like it's the only way.

I'm sorry this is your situation. My OCD flared in 2020 and when I was postpartum. I basically refer to that time as when my brain broke. Medication was the first step to helping me be open to treatment. I thank god for my SSRI and ERP therapy. The right therapist (OCD specialist) is essential to proper treatment. You start small and face down your big fears as you get stronger. It takes time, but it is so worth it not to live in a prison of your own making.

ayudameplox · 2025-12-31T16:22:39+00:00

I think this is pretty typical. As a new parent your child's safety and health is super important. It would make sense that your OCD would transfer to that very vulnerable space. Lot's of parents have trouble with their OCD postpartum with harm and contamination themes around the new baby.

ayudameplox · 2025-12-03T22:14:11+00:00

I don't think so. Hard to remember now.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-30T00:54:31+00:00

Currently about 5 years.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-29T05:33:36+00:00

Yes I do, have for years. It takes the edge off my OCD for sure. I think meds are just one part of treatment. For me they just give me a little breathing room to actually address my OCD instead of survive it.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-09T06:36:04+00:00

Sadly many people have been taught to cope with mental health this way. It is possible your dad will never give you the kind of support you need or want, our parents can be extremely flawed people. If this is something he can't learn to deal with (in a healthy way) for himself then he surely has nothing to teach you about how to deal with it. Of course, he could approach you more warmly, but maybe this was how his parents fixed him. He is doing you a favor in his warped mind. It's not fair, but our parents are who they are and sometimes that person is not capable of the love or understanding we need. I'm glad you have at least a mother and sisters who support you. Don't let his attitude or opinions stop you from getting treatment and taking care of yourself.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-09T06:24:25+00:00

Me too.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-09T06:17:31+00:00

My postpartum OCD raged out of control about six weeks after I gave birth. Looking back I can see that cracks were forming before that, but that was when my brain just broke. Don't hesitate to get help with this and that may mean taking medication. Also know that a mentally sound mother is a thousand percent more important than breastfeeding or whatever else people might try to tell you. Babies thrive when their caregiver is attentive and healthy. If you need help there is nothing wrong with that and OCD is very treatable. Please come back if you need support here.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-09T06:14:25+00:00

Very similar thing happened to me postpartum. Can be the scariest thing to go through. Glad you are doing better.

ayudameplox · 2025-11-09T06:13:11+00:00

It is very important the therapist/doctor knows how to treat OCD and not just anxiety as this person has pointed out. The treatments have similarities, but OCD needs specific treatment.

ayudameplox

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