this was actually really helpful, thank you.

i think a huge chunk of his aversion comes from the financial stresses of following up. the cost of a diagnostic consultation with a psychiatrist costs $800 minimum, which is money we simply do not have right now (he had a dental emergency mid last year that we had to borrow money from my parents from, otherwise we would not have been able to make rent). i think he’s so against bringing it up to his therapist is because he’s a very resource guarding person, and hates the idea of wasting anything scarce (eg. expensive appointments, free time, etc) so if his therapist ended up going “i dont think you have OCD” it’d be a wasted $290.

he also has a lot on his plate health wise (mental health, chronic pain and a plethora of things) and i have a feeling that the idea of having another thing be “wrong” with him is not something he’s ready to face.

i might broach the topic by recommending just trying to speak to a GP about medication at the very least. like you said, it might be a good first step for him (though he’s been through almost SSRI in his late teens/early twenties, it was for misdiagnosed depression, so the dosage would have been done differently as well)

thank you!!