No one really tells you how hard it is to deal with OCD after losing a pet. It's been the most painful heartbreaking thing ever. The intrusive thoughts have been frequent. I did make progress by not using chatgpt for a month but recently I gave in and used it out of desperation. Not proud of it but I've been very overwhelmed and lonely since my dog left.
Long story short I have been struggling with OCD for about 4 years. It started off small until it became more agonising. For the longest time I didn't realise it was OCD until October last year. Since then I've only managed to stop doing one of my major compulsions. I still struggle with mental compulsions, repeatedly checking things and googling/chatgpt and maybe a few other things.
I am in the process of trying to get therapy for this. I'm in the UK, It will take time to access therapy as there might be a long waiting time if I choose the NHS option. Unless i can find a way to get funds for private therapy i have no choice but to use the NHS. But for now I'm trying my best not to do the compulsions as much as possible. I know it's not ideal to try to tackle this on my own however I want to try my best in tolerating the discomfort as much as possible even before I have access to therapy. I'm not sure if the ocd I'm dealing with is on a severe spectrum but at the end of the day I do have compulsions and often avoid a lot of things that causes anxiety which is something that needs to be addressed. So far I'm currently going through this ocd workbook which i found really useful.