Any OCD success stories?

What kind of symptoms do you have? When I was younger, I washed my hands to a point where they hurt and were really dry. I obsessed over cleanliness of my hands and certain objects. Every time I touched something like a handle, I had a need to wash my hands. Other than that, I used to have a tendency to obsess over petty things and they would be stuck in my mind. I've obsessed about pretty much every body part I have about not being the way I wanted. I would overthink about things not being perfect.

I've gotten over most of my behavior and thoughts from the past, but I can still overthink and obsess over certain things, things that can be really irrelevant and petty. I've developed a more rational mind, so I recognize when I start getting obsessive thoughts. Many of my issues are gone after I started improving myself. I can't tell you exactly everything I did that contributed to me getting healed from this, it also kind of faded away over time. I was exhausted by my behavior too, so it naturally started weakening and I wouldn't bother for example washing my hands anymore.

 

Wow, doesn't sound fun to have it like that for weeks. I understand what you mean by these thoughts. Everyone gets them, but with OCD, you get them stuck in your head like you said. I'd have had certain thoughts that have remained in my head for long periods of time too. You need to overcome them, understand them. Rationalize why these thoughts are repeating themselves in your mind. What is so special about them? Like past events, you remember them negatively and you remember the feeling you had when they happened. They have stuck with you. You haven't really overcame them. At least for me, the intrusive thoughts I get and have had, deal with things I haven't made peace with. They are bothering me in some way. I would obsess over them until they no longer bother me.

 

thanks for the recommendation!

 

hey mate! I am also obsessed with cleaning my hands a lot. But i failed to keep my teeths clean, my oral hygene was really bad until now. I used to eat dinner and went to bed straightaway at night and i drink a lot of mike before bed and again went to bed straight away. As a result i got cavity in all four of my molar teeth in the lower jaw and i got 6 filling done and i am really obsessed with me for what i did to my teeths. My unawarness of oral hygene is also the reason( Nobody in my family went to a dentist before for cavities). I couldn't be able to forgive myself. Now a days i brush thoroughly and floss, but i am really obsessed with my fillings and cavity , it affected me a lot in my studies. i was depressed deeply and this leads me to a lot of pmo as well. can you give me some advice about how can i stop thinking about it? i look my teeth in the mirror for atleast 10 times in a day and i couldn't stop thinking about the problems of the cavity and filling.

 

Hello friend. I've also been careful about my oral hygiene lately because I've had probably at least 20 cavities during my childhood and teen years. I wouldn't say my OCD took my oral hygiene as a target of obsession but I would often get very worried about having cavities.

Firstly I would like to give you some tips that you might not know about oral hygiene. Every time you eat or drink something, your teeth experience an "acid attack" . It lasts for around an hour. You must not brush your teeth during this. It will weaken your tooth enamel, which might lead to or worsen your cavities. So in the morning after you have eaten, do not brush your teeth for at least an hour. People think this is the proper way to do it but little do they know about this issue. Overall, you should brush your teeth before you eat. And also after you have ate something (or drank), put gum in your mouth. And it needs to be proper xylitol gum. The purpose of gum is to weaken the acid attack that happens when you eat or drink something.

To give you a routine, brush your teeth when you wake up. Then eat, and every time after you have done eating or drinking, take a xylitol gum and chew that for some time. Then during evening, you can either brush your teeth before your last meal which is what I sometimes do, but it is more recommended that your brush your teeth right before you go to bed so you should eat your supper (then take some gum) and finally brush your teeth an hour later.

If you didn't already know these things, they should help you be more at ease with this issue. But to actually deal with the obsessive thoughts, you gotta start reducing your compulsive behavior little by little. Every time you have a need to look in the mirror to check your teeth, try not to do it. Just get away from the mirror and do something else. When you restrain yourself from your behavior, your obsession will weaken. Over time, you will be able to forget about this when you just avoid your behavior. The worst is to feed your obsession by behaving compulsively.

 

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply mate. i really appreciate it. i am not used to chewing gum but i will try. Now a days i just wash my mouth with water, every time after i eat or drink something.
Thanks for good oral advice and tip to avoid obsessive thoughts. Like you said, if i have an urge to see my teeth in the mirror, i will try my best not to do so. i really want to get this thing out of my head. i couldn't accept it, that's all. i should stop blaming myself for what i did to myself, but i couldn't be able to do it. whenever i am talking to somebody i check their teeth and compare it to myself. i feel like a weirdo by doing that.
About brushing before going to bed, i was too lazy to do it at night but i brush and floss just after i wake up in the morning. I also hate my old dentist for ruining my teeth, one of the filling he did broke twice within two months and he wants to do some unwanted treatment for my tooth. i know this after i visit a new dentist after the filling broke for the second time. we should be very careful in choosing good dentists. Thanks again mate.

 

Yeah sometimes we can't trust even the professionals. I know what you mean when you feel like a weirdo for your OCD in social situations. Just remember that nobody is perfect. You could think I have good teeth, which I do, but I've still had at least 20 cavities in my teeth.

 

Thanks brother.

 

Don’t worry dude, just wait, NoFap challenge will change all of that horrible things, you will not even realize it