Please help us to keep this a safe, supportive and harmonious user community by reading these Forum Guidelines. All users are required to follow the Guidelines while interacting with others by posting on the forums.
Before using the forums, please also read OCD Action’s:
Our Forum Guidelines
We want you to feel comfortable and safe while sharing your thoughts, questions, concerns and triumphs with people who understand on our forums.
Out of respect for our forum user community, please always follow the following Guidelines when posting:
Ensuring Privacy and Safety For You and All Other Forum Users
- Each forum user is allowed one account. If you register multiple accounts, we will contact you about closing all except one.
- Keep your forum login and account details private. Never give these to another user – or ask for theirs.
- This is not a “closed” forum, so do not post anything you want to keep private. Posts are public and can be viewed by anyone, not just registered forum users.
- Do not post personal details such as your “real world” name or email address or links to videos, social media or other sources where you can be identified. If posted, these will be removed to protect your privacy and security.
- Please only communicate with other users by posting on the forums. We strongly recommend that users don’t attempt to get in touch “outside” of the forums, either in person or virtually.
Content OCD Action Cannot Allow on Our Forums
- Do not post anything that you know, or think, may be illegal or pornographic. OCD also deserves the right to determine if posted content falls into these categories. Remember that illegal activity in a “virtual world”, like a forum, can be as serious as in the “real world”.
- We have zero tolerance for rude or insulting posts, personal attacks, racist, sexist, homophobic or any other offensive language or content.
- Posts with illegal, violent, sexually graphic, or other offensive content, references to or links to such content, or that violate these Guidelines, will be edited or removed.
- Double-posting (posting the same topic more than once), cross-posting (posting a topic in more than one forum) and posting to “bump” a topic up the forums is not allowed.
- Advertising, spamming and trolling are not permitted. You may only include links to commercial items for sale, such as books or videos, if they’re directly related to OCD or mental health issue and do not violate these Guidelines. We cannot allow advertising or references to “alternative” medications for treating OCD or any other health condition or to medications that are not sold legally, or to websites or shops or any sources that sell or promote such medications.
Tips For Helpful & Supportive Posting
- All posts and comments must be in English, which is the forum language. We understand we have a community of world-wide users, who may prefer to post in other languages, but please post in English, so all users can read all posts.
- Please welcome and encourage new users. Try to help others and not just ask for help for yourself.
- If it’s your first time posting, it’s helpful if you can tell users a bit about yourself and why you joined the forums – but always keep personal identification and contact details private. For example, explain if you’ve been diagnosed with OCD, and/or are a carer, parent or friend of someone with OCD.
Respecting Others When Posting
- Always read the very first post in a topic and remember you’re posting to support, listen to, thank etc the person who started it. Don’t “forget” about them and focus instead on on other users’ replies, especially if the top topic thread becomes lengthy.
- Always read a user’s entire post before replying. Miscommunication can happen when users “jump to conclusions” before carefully reading entire posts and taking time to reflect on it before replying.
- Please stay on topic; don’t suddenly change topics or interrupt the conversation with an off-topic reply
- Don’t “highjack” a topic by posting a reply intended only for another user who was not the original poster, while ignoring others.
- Don’t “take over” another user’s topic by posting about an unrelated personal issue, or question that you have etc. Either contribute something related to the topic – or start your own separate topic.
Helping Others Understand Your Posts Helps You Too
- A post written in one long paragraph is difficult to understand, and users may not read it. Try to put each of your points, questions, thoughts etc in a separate paragraph in your post.
- If you post a quote, advice etc from a printed source, such as a book or magazine article, you must include details so users can find the original source themselves. Useful details include the source’s title, author’s name, publication date and where/how you found it.
Posts Linking to Digital Content, Including Social Media, Images and Videos
- Follow the advice above about always posting sources for the content you included in your post; digital sources must also always include a link/URL.
- Moderators will review all posts linking or referring to digital sources, including but not exclusive to social media, online images and videos, (such as YouTube videos). OCD Action will immediately remove any content or links to sources not following these Guidelines. If you have an issue with any content removed, please don’t comment in a post, but contact us at
- If you post a link, remember that forum users must know exactly what to expect when clicking on it. Along with the link, you must include a description (as explained above.) If you post only a link with no text, it will be removed, as links can possibly lead to spam or illegal content.
OCD Assessment, Diagnosis &Treatment Advice From Medical Professionals Only
- You’re very welcome to share your own own OCD journey, including your assessment, diagnosis and treatment. But while you can make suggestions about help or support for others with OCD, (or who think they may have OCD), you can’t diagnose them or tell them which treatment is best for them.
- Advice about appropriate assessment, diagnosis and treatment must come from a qualified medical professional.
Help Us By Reporting A Post
- To report a post that you think doesn’t follow these Guidelines, click on the “REPORT” link on the top right-hand side of the post. You can read our Quick Guide to Reporting a Post for details. Or report it by emailing forum@ocdaction.org.uk
Removal of Negative Posts About Users/ OCD Action & Posts About Moderators
- Posts containing comments about our Moderators or negative, offensive, rude etc comments about other users will be removed. If you have concerns about the Moderators, or about other users, please instead email us at the address above.
- Please do not post negative or critical comments about OCD Action. To ask questions or send feedback about the charity, use the contact details on this page: https://ocdaction.org.uk/about-ocd-action/contact-us/
Open/ Repeated Guideline Violations & Actions to Ensure User Safety/Privacy
- OCD Action reserves the right to block or ban users who openly or repeatedly violate these Guidelines.
- Due to the nature of OCD, Moderators may also edit or remove posts for reasons not stated here. This is to help ensure that users feel safe and secure and are not exposed to offensive or illegal material.
- These Guidelines cover the most common situations occurring on these forums. OCD Action also reserves the right to take other appropriate actions not described here to ensure that forum user safety, privacy and security are protected.
We hope these Guidelines will help everyone to feel safe while enjoying using the forums.
If you ever feel isolated or alone, please remember that you’re part of our supportive and friendly forum user community!