Does OCD Escalate?

Hi, all. Hope you're well. I was wondering if OCD escalates? By that I mean, does someone with intrusive thoughts of harming others(my main obsession), eventually grow to like the thoughts? Like, the fear of becoming a serial killer is so present all the time, you eventually actually become one?

I've noticed that I'm not getting so much anxiety from the thoughts any more, but I'm still try to stop the thoughts. It's almost like I don't mind the thoughts but I still know that it's wrong to carry them out. I still freak out about them, but anxiety is not there.

hi petalz.

if you're asking whether ocd can escalate, the answer is yes. obsession and compulsion or the symtomps can get worse. the anxiety also can get worse and intense. BUT...

petalzz wrote:does someone with intrusive thoughts of harming others(my main obsession), eventually grow to like the thoughts? Like, the fear of becoming a serial killer is so present all the time, you eventually actually become one?

definitely NO. ocd won't make you become someone that against your nature. they're just irrational fears and thoughts.

petalzz wrote:'ve noticed that I'm not getting so much anxiety from the thoughts any more, but I'm still try to stop the thoughts. It's almost like I don't mind the thoughts but I still know that it's wrong to carry them out. I still freak out about them, but anxiety is not there.

hmm.. i think it's just a matter of time. and commitment. overcoming ocd is not easy.. but you will get there. good luck

That's what scares me. I ~think~ I've had OCD intrusive thoughts(I am diagnosed as such now) for as long as I can remember. Except the thoughts were never me acting out horrible scenarios but rather just them happening to loved ones. And I remember being incredibly distressed by them but I didn't question my true nature.

It's only been about six or seven months that I've had them as severe and distressing. What worries me is I hear about people who have dealt with this on a clinical level for years and the anxiety is still as potent as ever. For me though, the anxiety doesn't spike like that. Like I said, I still "freak out" over the thoughts and try to suppress them, I just don't know why the anxiety is subsiding so quickly when I've only had it as severe for such a short period of time.