does anyone else have severe ocd?

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i often get intrusive thoughts that bring me a great deal of anxiety everyday, and i have a hard time dismissing them or saying NO to them that they wont matter. I struggle alot with impulse control as well.

What are the anxiety bringing thoughts?

that i ruined my life, that im a freak, that im one of the weirdest people on the planet. These kinds of things bring me anxiety. Or that i will relapse on drugs

I don't have "severe" OCD, but I've dealt with it since I was a kid. I also have motor and vocal tics due to it.

I had those thoughts for about six months when I was 38. Then I became a Christian. Ever since then I've gotten positive messages about what the future holds...even though I'm single broke and almost unemployed at the moment.

In my opinion, being a Christian and trusting a sovereign God with your future and your well being is the best answer to everything, including OCD.

I think I have some kind of ocd. I count everything. I do it all day long and have done all my life. It doesn't really interfere with my life though.

I also have intrusive thoughts as well but I think that's more to do with ptsd in my case.

What religion were you before christian? were you an atheist?

Hello, I've had OCD since I was a child, which peaked at a severe form when I was around 22 (I'm 27 today). My OCD is close to the form of pure O, and I learnt to live with my brain: a) creating unpleasant scenarios multiple times a day; b) generating specific anxiety thoughts on everyday things.

I was on a high sertraline dosage years ago, it kind of helped. Now my OCD it's milder so I'm on a ligther dosage.

With time, I came up with a few suggestions I wish the younger me knew.

The first you have to remember is that higher dosages WILL NOT stop obsessions. They will show up, less often, but you can still have a peak of OCD thoughts during therapy.

Do not associate stimming/fidgeting/squirming to OCD thoughts, or it will become more and more automatic and harder to stop. The less consciously this happens, the harder will be to stop it. I used to swing a lot anytime my brain was producing scenarios... it took me more than a year to stop that.

A useful idea is not indulging in thoughts, as soon as they show up. It will be weird to realize how blank your mind can feel when freed from thoughts. This is not permanent though, it can be trained, but if you are OCD, well, you will always be. So, if you manage to get your mind blank, try to focus on something you really enjoy that helps you lower your anxiety. In my case, singing helped, because it entailed both my body and mind. It fully absorbed me and left no room for OCD.

Do not talk to non-therapists about your thoughts, unless they have time to listen and you're calm enough to organize them into words. It's a double edged sword, because it might even strenghten the activation patterns that lead to obsessions.

When I was in my severe phase, a doctor told me I could even develop a psychosis. I did not, luckly. But I had to quit university for six months. Had hard time sleeping. I literally needed months to relax and cool down.

I write this in the hope that someone find it helpful.

I was atheist but attended church from when I was 21-36
Then I had a breakdown, and started researching astrology in great detail. This lead me to Hinduism, which is related.
Then at 38 I had a religious experience while studying Hinduism which made me believe the bible 100%.
The religious experience was just like someone flicked a switch in my head and made me believe in the bible in an instant.