Empowering Quotes for Overcoming OCD: A Collection of Inspiration

"You lose time. You lose entire blocks of your day to obsessive thoughts or actions."

- Kelly Hill

"You do not have to live the life that OCD wants you to live – you can live the life that you want to live."

- Patrick B. McGrath, Ph.D.

"It can look like still waters on the outside while a hurricane is swirling in your mind."

- Marcie Barber Phares

"Just know that there is help, and your life could be better if you go out and seek the help."

- Howie Mandel

"A physical sensation crawls up my arm as I avoid compulsions. But if I complete it, the world resets itself for a moment like everything will be just fine. But only for a moment."

- Mardy M. Berlinger

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear not absence of fear."

- Mark Twain

"Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"OCD is like having a bully stuck inside your head and nobody else can see it."

- Krissy McDermott

"Don’t let OCD control your life. You are in charge, not the disorder."

- Charlize Theron

"It’s like being controlled by a puppeteer. Every time you try and just walk away he pulls you back."

- Toni Neville

"It’s like a broken machine. Thoughts go in your head, get stuck and keep going around and around."

- Megan Flynn

"Imagine all your worst thoughts as a soundtrack running through your mind 24/7, day after day."

- Adam Walker Cleveland

"For me, it’s like someone else has control of your brain. Like you’re being forced to do an endless number of completely random, pointless tasks you don’t want to do."

- Clarissa Chay

"It is impossible to get out of a problem by using the same kind of thinking that it took to get into it."

- Albert Einstein

"You really never lose until you stop trying."

- Mike Ditka

"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me."

- Erica Jong

"The basic principle behind behavioral therapy for OCD is that you cannot be bored and scared at the same time."

- Fred Penzel

"Refuse to act on an obsession, and it will die of inaction."

- Recovery Inc.

"You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

- A.A. Milne

"The issue is not that you get symptoms it's what you do with the symptoms that you get."

- Fred Penzel

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle."

- Christian D. Larson

"You are not your illness. You have an individual story to tell. You have a name, a history, a personality. Staying yourself is part of the battle."

- Julian Seifter

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

- Vincent van Gogh

"The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next."

- Mignon McLaughlin

"Compulsions are a lousy solution to the problem of having obsessions."

- Fred Penzel

"Getting well is 50 percent of the job, staying well is the other 50 percent."

- Fred Penzel

"If you want to think about it less, think about it more."

- Fred Penzel

"Suffering begins to dissolve when we can question the belief or hope that there's anywhere to hide."

- Pema Chodron

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step."

- Antoine De Saint-Exupery

"If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive."

- Maurice Chevalier

"The more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer because smaller things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of suffering."

- Thomas Merton

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."

- General Norman Schwarzkopf

"We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them."

- Titus Livius

"You cannot find peace by avoiding life."

- Michael Cunningham

"People with OCD drag a mental sea anchor around. Obsession is a brake, a source of drag, not a badge of creativity."

- David Adam

"Do not judge me by my successes; judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

- Nelson Mandela

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."

- E.E. Cummings

"Life is tough, my darling, but so are you."

- Stephanie Bennett Henry

"Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart."

- Roy T. Bennett

"Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow."

- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment."

- Stephen Covey

"You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

"Doubts are more cruel than the worst of truths."

- Molière

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful."

- Annette Funicello

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

- Arthur Ashe

"Every day may not be good … but there’s something good in every day."

- Alice Morse Earle

"If you tried / and didn’t end up / where you wanted to go / that’s still progress."

- Rupi Kaur

"A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a shortcut to meet it."

- J.R.R. Tolkien

"Worrying about dying will hardly help you live."

- Albert Ellis

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

- John Wooden

"I could think of nothing but the loneliness of being stuck in that glass room with only OCD for company."

- Ben Gander

"You should treat all disasters as if they were trivialities but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster."

- Quentin Crisp

"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."

- Voltaire

"There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction."

- Franz Kafka

"OCD is not how it’s stereotyped… it made me feel like my mind was playing a cruel trick on me…"

- Camila Cabello

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

- Oscar Wilde

"This only is certain, that there is nothing certain."

- Pliny the Elder

"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened."

- Michel de Montaigne

"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."

- Rumi

"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened."

- Michel de Montaigne

"OCD is a thief of time and energy, but I am reclaiming my life, one moment at a time."

"I have OCD, but I also have a fierce spirit. I will not let it break me."

"I have OCD, and I am on a journey of self-discovery. I am learning to love and accept myself, flaws and all."

"The intrusive thoughts may be loud, but my voice is louder. I will not be silenced."

"My OCD may be a part of me, but it will not define me. I am more than my diagnosis."

"I have OCD, but I refuse to let it control my happiness. I choose joy."

"My OCD has taught me the importance of self-compassion and acceptance. I am learning to love myself, flaws and all."

"Love is a choice I make every day, despite my OCD's attempts to undermine it."

"My OCD journey has taught me resilience. I am stronger than I ever thought possible."

"With support and determination, I am overcoming my OCD and embracing a life filled with possibilities."

"My OCD may make life more challenging, but it also makes me more resilient."

"I have OCD, but I am not giving up. I will fight for my freedom, one day at a time."

"Living with OCD is like walking through a minefield, but I'm learning to navigate it with caution and courage."

"The compulsions may offer temporary comfort, but I am seeking lasting peace."

"I have OCD, but I also have hope. I believe in a brighter future."

"Behind my compulsions lies a deep well of anxiety, but I am learning to navigate its depths."

"I trust my partner's words and actions, not my OCD's interpretations."

"My worth isn't determined by the 'perfection' of my relationship."

"I have OCD, but I am stronger than my fears. I will not surrender."

"OCD is a thief, stealing my time, my energy, and my joy."

"The intrusive thoughts are like a broken record, playing the same tune of fear and doubt on repeat."

"I am not alone. There is a community of support, understanding, and strength waiting to embrace me."

"Every challenge faced is an opportunity for growth. OCD is no exception."

"Nothing is more powerful than habit."

"OCD is not a life sentence. It is a challenge that, with time and effort, you can overcome."

"Every day is a battle, but every day I choose to fight."

"It's okay not to be okay. It's also okay to seek help and find support."

"Progress, not perfection, is the goal. Celebrate every small victory along the way."

"Don't let fear hold you back. Face your anxieties and reclaim your life."

"You are stronger than you think, braver than you believe, and more capable than you imagine."

"OCD may try to define you, but don't let it. You are stronger than your intrusive thoughts."

"Recovery from OCD is a journey, not a destination. Celebrate every step, no matter how small."

"Don't let OCD steal your joy. Fight back with laughter, love, and a relentless pursuit of your dreams."

"Every time you challenge an OCD compulsion, you are taking back control. Keep going, warrior."

"Perfection is an illusion. Embrace your flaws, they make you beautifully human."

"It's okay not to be okay. Give yourself permission to feel, to struggle, and to heal."

"You are more than your OCD. You are a unique, wonderful individual with so much to offer the world."

"Your mind is a powerful tool. Use it to challenge negative thoughts, cultivate self-compassion, and create a life you love."

"Turn your struggles into strengths. Use your experiences to inspire and uplift others."

"You are a warrior. Keep fighting, keep growing, and never lose sight of your inner light."

"Don't let OCD dim your light. Shine bright and illuminate the world."

"OCD may try to control you, but you have the power to break free."

"The bravest thing you can do is continue your life when you don’t know how."

"Living with OCD is like carrying a heavy weight, a burden that never seems to lighten."

"The fear of contamination haunts my every move, turning ordinary tasks into a battleground."

"I am more than my OCD, but sometimes it feels like it's all that defines me."

"OCD is a constant battle, a war waged against my own mind."

"Behind my smile lies a hidden struggle, a silent scream for help."

"I'm tired of fighting, tired of resisting, tired of being consumed by this disorder."