- Username
- ProbablyObsessing
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Seeking reassurance is a compulsion. It doesn't matter if you get it from your counselor or give it to yourself. Doing a compulsion does relieve your anxiety, but it only lasts a very short time. It also teaches your brain that the thought truly is a threat. Your brain will respond by giving you the same thought even more. It also makes your OCD words. More intrusive thoughts leads to more anxiety, which leads to more compulsions. Also, you can NEVER satisfy OCD. No matter how many compulsions you do, OCD will always say "Yeah, but what about _______?" Does your therapist understand OCD? The fact that she is willing to give you reassurance tells me she probably doesn't. A therapist that understands OCD would not give you reassurance. Traditional talk therapy does not work for OCD and does more harm than good
Two things: 1: This is what ERP is for, by exposing yourself to a situation that OCD is telling you is bad acknowledging, but not responding to the thought, over time A) you will have the thoughts less B) you will be able to function C) If you still have them, they will seem less scary 2: Over time, I have come to notice when my brain is anxious and I may not be able to think fully rationally. Sometimes I can feel (or it seems like I can) whatever chemicals/hormones/whatever are being released that make me anxious. Sometimes I know Im in a situation where I cant see the way out, but it is at this point I have to acknowledge that there probably is a rational way to think about it, and simply wait it out until my mind has cleared up to the point where I can think clearly. So I carry on with whatever normal activity I was doing before that occurred and try not to fixate it too much.
Absolutely. I am just trying to get to a place where I don’t have the thought and immediately feel the need to share with my therapist so I can get my reassurance. I agree with you though!
I can relate so much. I think I have to work more on my willingness to lean into the uncertainty, to allow the discomfort of not solving the "problem."
The only way I seem to get over my obsessions is to find reassurance from someone ? How do I stop this AND stop the anxiety that comes with the obsessions?
Is it possible to seek reassurance from oneself? Because sometimes I try to combat my obsessive thoughts by telling myself, "this is just my OCD. There's no need to be anxious or upset over this unwanted thought. My OCD is telling me things that aren't true." Or if I have an intrusive thought, I'll tell myself, "this is just an intrusive thought, it doesn't reflect who I am as a person. Just because I'm having an intrusive thought about doing something awful doesn't mean I actually want to do that thing. It's just an intrusive thought, it doesn't say anything about my character or desires." Is it okay to do this, or is this another form of reassurance-seeking? I guess basically my question is, is it okay to comfort oneself and remind oneself of the truth, or is this a form of compulsion in itself? I'm just trying to figure out how to respond to my intrusive thoughts and obsessions in a healthy way.
You would think by now, I would KNOW it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but I still believe everything. I will admit I had problems with compulstions in the past, but I overcame that somehow, and now it's turned to reassurance seeking towards everything. Anyone have any tips on how to overcome reassurance seeking, and believing all of my thoughts?
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