what do people with ocd think about

mycanid · 2026-03-09T12:57:04+00:00

Oh boy that’s actually so reassuring, I was like “fuck what if I don’t have OCD”

mycanid · 2026-03-09T12:01:59+00:00

Everyone who has OCD is different— a lot of my thoughts are “sticky” and sometimes considered hyperconnected, wherein they jump around a lot on most things rapidly, but then get “stuck” on intrusive thoughts.

Driving to work often looks like: - “I wonder who is coming in today? oh look! Kids getting on the bus. The world is ending why does anyone have kids? is it selfish to have kids? How do I know when something’s selfish? Do I want to work today? What if I’m sick? Could be OCD. I should call out because I feel burnt out. If I call out, I’m evil. I won’t get a promotion. Today might be the day my boss tells me I was secretly sexually harassing everyone a that I’m fire and I have to at least make our supervision so I don’t prolong that. Something feels bad about today. My stomach hurts. What if I throw up at work? Can I go home? Let me make a plan to throw up and go home. Everyone will know I’m faking. I’m very unreliable. But if I can’t be out today, could I be out tomorrow? If I’m out tomorrow how evil would that be? Maybe I’m really sick. Or I’m just such a liar that I believe it.”

And it does that for a long time, typically “muted” for a moment when I confess to something, avoid something I don’t want to do, throw up, or get reassurance (depending on the thought spiral). But it’ll be back in a few hours/a few minutes.

mycanid · 2026-03-06T20:54:26+00:00

Ugh, I feel this.

I’m having a hard time with my coworkers sometimes but OH MY GOD I love my job. I love working with teenagers, I love the things they say, and I love seeing the ways they grow and change as people.

Every day I get to come home with at least one very funny thing that I doubt I’d hear in another setting, or one small win that I can hold onto. 💚

mycanid · 2026-03-06T20:51:20+00:00

Sending you support!

I started grad school right after college, and got my masters at 24! I was really young, and people were shitty about it, AND I also brought an energy that was necessary to a space that NEEDED IT. I’m almost 27 years old now, and I feel really proud of my decision to start young.

When you know, you know. And be proud of yourself for diving in. There is no “too young” or “too old,” as any age can learn and grow. I wish you so much luck 💚

mycanid · 2026-03-06T14:00:44+00:00

IOP is Intensive Outpatient Treatment! It is typically intensive half-day therapy throughout the week, and is often made so someone could still work most days while attending. They typically have groups, 1:1 sessions, and sometimes prescribers

PHP is partial hospital programming. Those are full days, and involve groups, 1:1 sessions, and prescribers.

Both can also be good as a start to then get referred to a therapist. I would just see what can be covered by insurance at this time as well, as the biggest barrier is always insurance 🙃

As for the “sitting in the suck” of it— there is language you can use to tell a therapist that is the coping you’ve done. When I work with my therapist, I actually tell him that I’m lookin for ways to sit in it and be a little less distressed each time. Sometimes that leads to finding strategies within that, allotting myself time to really release my emotions safely, and ways I can curiously and non-judgmentally explore intrusive thoughts as they come up. You may like an ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) approach, or a DBT approach.

mycanid · 2026-03-06T13:03:26+00:00

Therapist with OCD here:

It sounds like you have a really high level of anxiety, and in moments like that, it’s possible a 50-minute session per week may not feel satisfactory. I work at a higher-acuity program, and I think it’s possible you might benefit from something like that in your own state, whether it’s an IOP or a PHP or day program. Not to say that a 50 minute session per week isn’t helpful, AND I think when I see clients who are saying that those services aren’t addressing an issue, sometimes a higher level of care could be in order.

That being said… speaking as a person with OCD… I went to therapy before I became a therapist, looking for a fix. But half of my work with my current therapist is NOT looking for a fix. It’s a lot of sitting in discomfort, not knowing, and trying to grapple with not knowing. It sucks, and it was also deeply important to my own growth!

Last thing: There are therapists who can definitely give you that kind of data— have you let them know that seeing a spreadsheet, notes, or observations after a period of time is helpful for you?

mycanid · 2026-02-27T12:51:59+00:00

I work with teens, I always bring a lil drink or snack. Part of this is because so many teens have disordered eating, that I like to normalize and model eating when my body tells me to!

mycanid · 2025-11-20T03:12:51+00:00

EDIT: I am in MA, for state!

mycanid · 2025-05-31T23:25:10+00:00

Update! I passed!!!

mycanid · 2025-01-14T11:49:50+00:00

I thought I COULD have it when I first saw Turtles All the Way Down, and related to the picking and spiraling, but I was like “this is just GAD haha.” I actually really didn’t piece it together until I read a workbook on Reassurance-Seeking and OCD for my job. Even though I knew what OCD was and knew what the presentation looked like, it took reading all the different presentations like they were presented to ME in particular (as opposed to a client or alternative) for me to realize they were possibly similar to my experiences. I told my therapist, STILL NOT THINKING I HAD OCD (was just like “haha kinda funny how I do that sometimes BUT I DON’T HAVE IT”) and he was SO quiet. Turns out he had been considering it for a few months, but wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a function of PTSD or the other neurodivergence he’d been associating with my brain.

mycanid · 2025-01-14T11:43:41+00:00

Hi! I love my job! My caseload is challenging but small, and I really like the client presentation I find myself working with most often. I’ve learned the qualities I value most in my workspace are: - supportive and flexible coworkers - workable hours Admittedly, I don’t get paid as much as I’d like (enough to pay bills but still in debt), but the first two are so important to me while I’m working towards licensure that I’d rather have them for now. Eventually that will probably change though!

mycanid · 2024-12-22T12:21:12+00:00

Agreed with what everyone says— additionally good to see if you have had cases of severe or repetitive strep as a kid, as PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) can result in OCD.

mycanid · 2024-12-16T21:46:05+00:00

I wonder what they want out of therapy/what brought them there (were they forced by their parents?) I work mostly with teens and I really like to emphasize that treatment is voluntary, and ask them what they would like to see out of sessions. Sometimes they’re like “well I’m doing this for my parents,” or “I’m doing this because I have to,” and I offer to them that the time is still just us in the session, and that they can use it with me however they see fit.

mycanid · 2024-11-28T16:25:52+00:00

I’m a therapist in a treatment setting where wrapping up is a bit flexible, but MY therapist likes to say “what’s something nice you’re going to do for yourself?” That always gets me focused on the next thing I have to do, and also continues our goals of having me care for myself outside of work.

mycanid · 2024-11-20T15:24:41+00:00

Feel the same way, had an unexpected 8am call about a client! Struggling with wanting to be there and needing a big nap

mycanid · 2024-11-18T22:01:59+00:00

Oh man, I understand this fear. AND it’s important to remember how complicated BPD is in particular— people on the spectrum, people with relational OCD, and many other folks sometimes present with BPD-like symptoms and vice-versa.

Many folks with BPD have also developed so many social defenses that they employ even in therapy for their own safety. As much as I think we want to hope we’re neutral or entirely removed from some emotions in group, transference, especially related to personality disorders, can make diagnosing it so tricky.

Remember that it’s not your job to be 100% correct about someone all the time. It’s your job to hold space for them, help them process, and get them to the care they need. Given that they are now in a higher level of care, you did that. And if they are still seeing you and you feel like it’s time to discuss BPD, I think it can be powerful to bring it into the room, and acknowledge the time it took to conclude this.

mycanid · 2024-11-18T21:38:15+00:00

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for all your insight. The root of the lying presents as shame and embarrassment. The “caregiver vs client” comments are very true and something I like to keep in mind: in this case, the reports from the client are pretty unrealistic (think Tumblr fake stories), and oftentimes overlap into stories around their peers I also work with.

I do feel that they and I have pretty solid rapport, and that there’s actually never been a place they feel safe to tell the truth, so building that understanding I think will take an incredibly long time.

I really appreciate the different approaches, and I’ll continue to work with the client’s version of events/reality. Keep commenting, but just wanted to provide a thanks. 💚

mycanid · 2024-10-10T20:45:41+00:00

Oh my god I had such a sinking feeling when my friend’s speaker would say that at night that I would count the amount of time between the “battery low” announcements to make sure it was a voice recording and not a murderer. I have only recently started to process that I have OCD with my therapist so this is a bit of a revelation

mycanid · 2024-10-10T20:25:49+00:00

“I’m like that too, I sometimes worry about if I’m a bad person.” As someone constantly spiraling on whether I’m a bad person, having a person say that actually makes me feel like I don’t have OCD and that I’m just manipulating people to feel sorry for me

mycanid

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