OCD mixed with truth? How do you handle that? I’ve been obsessing over a theme that I thought was crazy for the past few weeks. I thought I was just being overly anxious/paranoid. Then I find out last night that there IS a some truth to what I feared. I’ve been sick to my stomach all day and on my phone all day trying to research and rationalize and justify the situation. I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s been almost 10 hours. I feel like I’m in a whirlpool, just swirling around and around. Everything I try to search makes me feel worse and worse. I can’t accept that this really happened because it scares me too much. I can’t let it go because it’s not just anxiety anymore- it’s TRUE (well, sort of true). I even called my boyfriend and he explained everything to me and explained the situation but I still can’t let it go. How can we cope when our anxieties actually come true? What then?

Relationship OCD

chattachana

Date posted: 3y

I realized some of my anxiety was kind of true as well 2 days ago... I spiraled, the guilt is unbearable. But the present moment is a choice. You can't change the past and can't predict the future. Where you are right now is where you choose to be. You can control your true experience in the right now, and if it means apologizing to others and forgiving yourself then that's ok too. You are there right now, because you want to be.

Stuckinmyhead

Date posted: 3y

Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate it! Unfortunately, my situations and anxieties revolve around the actions of others…or in specific, one other person. I have thoughts about things I can’t POSSIBLY know. Last week, I had a thought and had absolutely no evidence so I brushed it off as anxiety. I was finally starting to calm down about it, and told myself I would “deal with it if it ever ACTUALLY happened”… Then last night I found out it did happen. Many years ago, long before I even knew this person. He did something slimey and I found out about it. I couldn’t have possibly known. Now I am convinced that all my anxious thoughts are true and I just have insane intuition. I don’t know how to deal with it. Sorry for ranting again but thanks so much for reading and for your thoughtful reply. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this too

chattachana

Date posted: 3y

@rewilding Oh I see, it is indeed different. For me it was something I did. But I think my answer still applies. You still choose right now what you want to do, regardless of the past and the future. You will have to take a decision I suppose, and it's ok to take time to think about it. You don't have to rush anything.

Saraa

Date posted: 3y

I don't think your doubts became true. I think you find an evidence that your doubts could be true even right now, and because you don't want that; you are really scared, yet you feel justified to keep thinking/trying to answer. But that just make things worse! Treat them as normal doubts!

Stuckinmyhead

Date posted: 3y

Thank you! I do agree with that and really appreciate your reply! I think what scares me most is that these thoughts seem to come out of almost nowhere. This most recent one just popped up out of nowhere and I was extremely anxious for a couple weeks about it, but nothing was happening in the present moment that made it true. Then suddenly I find out that something happened 5-6 years ago, and suddenly my fear had come true, even though it was in the past. I just can’t explain where these thoughts are coming from and that’s why it feels more intuitive. BUT I definitely agree that I probably am finding evidence because I am scared too, which makes it much worse

Saraa

Date posted: 3y

Hi! This happens to mee to. A lots of times actually! It always lead to the question "is this rocd or am I just really really good at reading people, so I need to trust my gut??" Now I talk for experience (so maby for you is not the same) It is a 50-50. I am actually good at reading people. I understand when they feel off, annoyed etc. But than my rocd, make me think their feelings are personally connected to me: they are annoyed because they don't want you. I would keep asking for reassurances, they get more annoyed, and at the end they would actually leave me! The conclusion is that rocd make surely your problem worse; so you have to learn to recognise and treat your ocd doubts, even If they came from reality! Another experience: I had a lot of doubts about my relationship. I learned to manage them in some months, and things started to improve, but sometimes we still have crisis; because he did things that makes me feel bad. After thoose; I loose my feelings, and all felt so real! I was telling myself "this can't be rocd, he actually did something!" I understood after the mechanism! He did a wrong thing, and I felt really delused, sad, alone... bad because of him. So there is a problem between us! Instead of trying to talk/solve it, I start to be really scared: i have abandonment fear, and also I am really scared of feeling bad again. So my rocd came out, and I start to doubt about us = feeling loss! But I feel justified because he actually did something that hurted me!

hereintheUK

Date posted: 22w

OCD based in real fear……

How do any of you guys deal with OCD that’s latched on to something real? I don’t mean real event OCD but a real thing?

anonymous00001

Date posted: 19w

Looking for “proof” that it’s not OCD

Hey all, I’ve been having some ebbs and flows in recovery, but for the most part I’ve really had a lot of improvements in quality of life since starting treatment in 2023. Something that really trips me up is ruminating on my past and looking for “evidence” or “proof” that the things that I’m obsessed with are real and not OCD. I spend quite a lot of time doing this. I wasn’t fully aware I was doing it until recently. Example: that I’m secretly gay and lying to everyone (I’m bi), that I’m a horrible person deep down, that I’ve never actually loved any person including my family, that I have the “wrong” political or religious beliefs. I look for proof in every corner of my past. It makes some sense that I think this way because with my previous therapist, who I saw for 8 years and did not diagnose me with OCD, we would look for evidence and proof that my obsessions are irrational and I learned to deal with them that way. At the time it was a lot of health concern and contamination themes, but I literally learned to ruminate and search for relief. But I just kept getting sicker and sicker until I got diagnosed with OCD. It’s a frustrating compulsion that keeps showing up for me. What if these scary things are true? What if it’s not OCD at all and I’m in denial? Have I lied my way into thinking I have OCD? It’s so hard. Anyway, I’m curious if anyone else has come across this in recovery? Let me know your thoughts and I hope you’re well. ❤️

ItsMeEli

Date posted: 16w

Real event/ guilt OCD

Hey guys, for the past three months I’ve been obsessing over a mistake I made about 6 months ago, I constantly have panic attacks and wake up in fight or flight mode I have convinced myself that someone is gonna find me somehow and punish me. I have endlessly looked up reassurance that what I did wouldn’t get me in trouble or something, I have filled up 5 different ChatGPT chats and it tells me it’s 100% certain nothing will happen. But then I convince myself well everyone says not to trust it and then I just spiral again. The point is I’m just scared, I’ve convinced myself this isn’t OCD because it’s something I actually did wrong. I can’t stop looking for reassurance because that’s the only thing that makes me feel safe anymore. Everyone tells me, just say maybe, maybe not, but my brain has convinced me the stakes are too high. I’m too scared and I don’t know what to do.

Real Events OCD

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