mental health ocd???

[swiftie_am_i?]

hi so i feel like i might have ocd but idk how to talk to my parents. 

i sometimes will think "what if my cat dies" or sm like that and then will have to keep saying in my head "wont happen wont happen" until it feels right

i never have to flip light switches or clean but have to think random stuff.

i used to go to therapy but dont anymore

ive js told my aunt but no one else

 

pls help

[swiftie_am_i?]

also im worried i have anxiety

[Duckie]

18 hours ago, swiftie_am_i? said:

hi so i feel like i might have ocd but idk how to talk to my parents. 

i sometimes will think "what if my cat dies" or sm like that and then will have to keep saying in my head "wont happen wont happen" until it feels right

i never have to flip light switches or clean but have to think random stuff.

i used to go to therapy but dont anymore

ive js told my aunt but no one else

pls help

Hi @swiftie_am_i?,

Welcome to Ditch the Label! My name is Duckie and I'm one of the support mentors here. Nice to meet you!

It sounds like you sometimes struggle with intrusive thoughts. Is that fair to say? This can of course be very distressing, because they are hard to shake off. Are the thoughts usually about something terrible happening and do you know if anything triggers these thoughts? How often would you say they occur and where are they most likely to happen (ie at school, at home for example)?

How did your aunt react when you told her about what you're experiencing? Was she supportive?

[swiftie_am_i?]

 thanks for replying!

yeah, my aunt was very supportive

and yes, i would agree i have pretty bad intrusive thoughts. they normally go along the lines of "someones going to die because of me not doing this" 

i don't really know what triggers them, it could be stress or something else but idk 

 

[Duckie]

22 hours ago, swiftie_am_i? said:

 thanks for replying!

yeah, my aunt was very supportive

and yes, i would agree i have pretty bad intrusive thoughts. they normally go along the lines of "someones going to die because of me not doing this" 

i don't really know what triggers them, it could be stress or something else but idk 

Hi @swiftie_am_i?,

It's good to hear from you 

Intrusive thoughts are often triggered by stress of anxiety. They also seem to reflect that something you do will somehow have a catastrophical outcome for someone else. Why do you think that is?

[swiftie_am_i?]

2 hours ago, Duckie said:

Hi @swiftie_am_i?,

It's good to hear from you 

Intrusive thoughts are often triggered by stress of anxiety. They also seem to reflect that something you do will somehow have a catastrophical outcome for someone else. Why do you think that is?

i don't know. it could be because i am stressed out a lot? i'm in middle school and also was in a professional play for my first time so it was stressful. 

i also just am anxious all the time and am an oldest sibling with lots of pressure on me to watch my siblings so, i dont know, that could be a cause??  

[Duckie]

On 1/5/2024 at 3:28 PM, swiftie_am_i? said:

i don't know. it could be because i am stressed out a lot? i'm in middle school and also was in a professional play for my first time so it was stressful. 

i also just am anxious all the time and am an oldest sibling with lots of pressure on me to watch my siblings so, i dont know, that could be a cause??  

Hi @swiftie_am_i?,

It sounds like you have a lot of things going on and that there might be a lot of expectations on you at the moment - both in the school play and with being the oldest sibling. This is a lot to process and sometimes the mind will take weird turns to create a sense of control by saying "don't do this - it will have disastrous consequences". Our minds tend to wonder when we feel overwhelmed by things, so it might be worth exploring certain places and situations that trigger this. Are the intrusive thoughts for example more likely to happen when you're at home or in school? Are their places or people that make you feel safe and that you rarely get intrusive thoughts when around?

Are you often asked to watch your siblings? Do you get enough time to yourself to just reflect and process your day? Because it is important to feel like you can have a safe space and to be able to go through the events of the day.