Hey, this isn't hocd, but I thought it might help anyway if you can use these strategies.
I had a bad spike quite a few weeks ago. The last 2 weeks however I am feeling like I'm getting back to my old self again. My OCD is not so much compulsions (well a few but they don't bother me at all), but rather intrusive thoughts and having to know every single detail about certain matters. I have the urge to ask questions to know something and start panicking if I don't know the answer. It was getting really bad. Now I am learning to let the thought go and realise that one question turns into many and gets me all worked up.
The way I have dealt with this is by two main things. Countering the thoughts and exposure and response prevention.
I wrote myself little cards that had countering thoughts on them and looked at them every time I had a question or thought. Some of these include: "Does this question serve a purpose? What do I hope to achieve?", "I do not need to know. The answers DO NOT change my life. I will still be happy not knowing.", "Rate the thought. How will the answer change your life?". Anyway I've got heaps more of them.
The other part exposure and response prevention. I refused to give in to the OCD thought. I refused to ask a series of questions. So I let myself be exposed to a topic and did not act on it. It was stressful and part of this strategy means you will feel stressed, but you've got to stick at it until the anxiety subsides. I used to replay all the topics and questions in my head, but now I'm starting to forget them. Things that made me panic before just aren't doing that to me anymore. I even tried last night I kept thinking of something, thinking the panicking feeling is sure to come sooner or later, but it didn't. I went to thinking about things all day long, to maybe 4 times a day, to twice. It's still not perfect, but I think I'm on the way. With this you must stop when OCD free people would stop. Like my thing is questions so I've gotta stop after the first, even if I feel uncomfortable or not ask at all. If your thing is hand washing you wash your hands the amount of time a OCD free person would, not what feels right for you. I think the key is to break the cycle.
Also with this strategy I went through a little process of asking other questions to myself like "What would I do right now before I had OCD?" Answer: I wouldn't even be thinking about it. I'd stop with the first question and not give it another thought". Also "If I had an OCD free twin what would they do now?" Answer: "They'd be happy and not even thinking of this..etc". It might sound silly but it seems to have worked for me. I actually feel happy again for the first time in weeks.
I hope these things can relate to you and your OCD. Good luck. Don't be discouraged if you have setbacks with these strategies, it's normal.
: Some weeks are bad I wont think about it at all, some weeks are horrible, its all I think about. Sooo, I just would like to hear any good stories of how you got over hocd, how your currently doing, if you ended beating this horrible ocd, got married and moved past this? thanks guys im just hurting right now b/c I know deep down its not true, and it cant be.