MY advice dont share you have OCD at all! I have been married for 20years and started dating my husband at 15 yrs old I am 40yrs now..He does not know! I think when we keep it a secret we work harder not to show it and we function better! plus OCD is not something that can be soothed away with long talks.(as you know) so there is nothing a partner could do for you except give you a little support but, I leave that up to my therapist that I pay the big bucks to. I think you can eventually share that you have OCD I guess but, dont count on a partner or anyone else for a coping mechanism because we OCDERS have to be our own "parachutes". I say go out and meet someone and act as if Ocd is just a small annoyance. I am really glad you are ready to socialize now! It will be a great distraction for your OCD!! This is just how I cope with all my relationships it just an opinion....I dont want to offend anyone if they do share their OCD issue with partners or family it is just my way of dealing with things and it has worked for me!and made me more independent coping with my symptoms I use my therapist and this DS website! I say go out a socialize and HAVE FUN!! Hope you meet someone wonderful!!

beatingOCD - i think this is good advice, at least in my experience. i have always told my partners about my OCD, and tried to teach them techniques for understanding/dealing with me. it has never worked. i also see how it allows me to burden others when i need to be practicing the coping mechanisms i have learned. in the end, no one else can really make a difference in the OCD, not for me. i need to soothe myself, and it makes for a better relationship when they don't know everything i am thinking - so overwhelming.

don't tell them right away at least - it will be up to you if you want to ever share it. definitely don't ever expect someone to be understanding enough to help make it better somehow though - it's just so tough for others, especially if they are sensitive or have anxiety of their own (i tend to pick super-sensitive, depressed partners).

good luck friend!! you deserve an excellent dating experience!!! i do hope you find compassion, kindness and wit out there! :)

Hello Happiness,

I suppose I should start by saying I have been alone for a very long time and lost the only family member that was willing to be there for me when she died in "97
I guess up until that point I lived mostly vicariously through her life.
Fourteen years later, I still find several moments in every day to think about the Sister I lost and I have probably shed enough tears to fill a Sea!
My OCD is very high maintenance and at this point I don't see myself ever finding anyone that could live up to the task.
You can take my post at face value since I don't have the experience of being with anyone, but here it is.
I think your right in telling someone which you want a potentially long term relationship that you have OCD.
How can you truly be "with someone" if they don't have any idea what you suffer with everyday?
If they don't know your fears or understand your hesitations or actions?
Stress is the favorite food for OCD, so how would your stress level handle keeping it a secret?
I would say you don't have to lay it all out there as soon as you meet a person, but once you start getting to know them you may want to ease your situation into the picture.
I know my OCD has gotten progressively worse since I've been so "on my own in the struggle" and I think if I would have had someone special in my life it wouldn't had gained this much power over me.
In the end its all about how you feel about the situation and if the person you have chosen is capable of understanding what you will be telling them.
No two relationships are going to be alike, so follow your instincts and trust yourself.