I don't know how to move forward
Hello everyone. For starters, I am a 20F who has been diagnosed with OCD, GAD, and OCPD. I started university this fall, and I believe that this experience has given me a lot of insight into who I am. I'm not sure how much I like that picture.
My first ever diagnosis was OCD, and that was undoubtedly the worst period of my life. I am not exaggerating when I say that at the time, I did not see a reason to live anymore. I got medicated, the compulsions got better, and I still ruminate and have unreasonable worries, but it is manageable.
I was diagnosed with GAD a couple of months after my OCD because the medication was not doing anything for my overall anxiety. As of right now, I have tried 3 SSRIs and 1 SNRI, and they have not really improved my quality of life. I am on the SNRI right now, and it pretty much keeps me from breaking down, but the anxiety is still often unmanageable.
Lastly, I was recently diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. As probably a lot of you, I had not heard about it until I was diagnosed, and I truly do not think anything has ever described me better. This disorder is tearing me apart. I'm aware of the stigma associated with it, but I truly don't know how to overcome this.
I cannot keep or build relationships for the life of me. I have friends, but I often neglect them because I prioritize my academic life above all else. It's not even a competition. If you ask me if I would go hang out with my friends or study, the answer will always be study. I think that this comes from the fact that I feel like this is who I am. I have hobbies and things I like, but I will not partake in them often because I just can't sacrifice my grades. I am a perfectionist to a fault. I cannot let things go, and I will never feel like they are enough. I genuinely do not remember the last time I felt genuine accomplishment.
I feel like my life is dominated by this, and I just don't feel happy to wake up every morning. It's just another day to work. I also do not think that I am a particularly likable person, so that does not make it any easier for me to make friends.
I know this probably sounds like not much of an issue, but just living like this all the time is exhausting. My standards are so high that I will never keep them.
I appreciate any advice :)
Posted Nov 5, 2025, 11:41 PM UTC