I was nine years old when anxiety started taking over my life. I was constantly in my head. I was overly scared of things around me, and scared of things I was thinking. At that time we didn’t know it was OCD. I had to ‘confess’ everything to my mom. Anything that I felt may be…
I first noticed there was something off around 17, but when I looked back after diagnosis, I realized I had been experiencing symptoms since childhood and just didn’t realize it wasn’t right. Growing up my obsessions heavily revolved around loved ones dying, and trying to prevent it with compulsions (I could only use certain products…
I was really small when I started having (what I had no idea were) panic attacks. I’d worry about tiny things that seemed endless and enormous. I’ve always experienced (in hindsight since a very young age) intrusive thoughts and then the classic OCD symptoms in terms of actions. I have relationship OCD too and it was difficult navigating romantic…
I knew something was off at around 10 years old. I was experiencing depressive and anxious thoughts, but didn’t start speculating that I may have OCD until the age of around 14. I actually looked into it because I had been picking my skin excessively. I’d found out information about dermatillomania and many sources described…
I’ve always had symptoms of OCD; I just didn’t know it was OCD nor were the symptoms debilitating at the time, as would become the case during my university days. I first realized that something was terribly wrong when I was in my second year of legal studies. Each time I’d write an exam or…
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realised I had OCD. I’ve had symptoms for nearly as long as I can remember. Some of the earliest instances I can vividly recall, though, took place when I was five or six years old. The symptoms vary greatly and have varied throughout my life ranging from the…
I struggle with OCD, mostly with regards to contamination OCD and religious OCD. I do not remember a time in my life where I did not exhibit symptoms. I think this is also partially due to the fact that I am autistic, and OCD is a very common co-morbidity. My earliest memory regarding my OCD…
I noticed at about 13 years old that something wasn’t right. But if I look back now, the signs were there earlier too. I noticed that I felt an intense fear, and thoughts that would not subside no matter what I did. I was deathly afraid of germs and I would count every single thing….
I was diagnosed with BPD first when I was 18 after suspecting for two years, but CAMHS dismissed my symptoms. I could not control my emotions and experienced fluctuations within my mood, self image and levels of anger. All of my friendships and relationships were turbulent and ended badly as I become completely dependent on…
I have suffered with BPD since I was a teenager (around 14/15 years old) but wasn’t officially diagnosed till I was 19. I have what is classified as ‘quiet’ BPD, which basically means I act out a lot of my symptoms internally rather than externally. For example, others may punch a wall or shout and…