I shared this in another post but I think it's something important to know. We think we are what the intrusive thoughts say. But you know what I have discovered talking to people? Everyone deals with intrusive thoughts that they wish they didn't have. That made me realize that the problem is not the thoughts that come and go but our emotional reaction to them. When I fall victim to my thoughts and compulsions is because of the meaning that I start giving them. And you know what? I'm learning to fire the interpreter. I sometimes laugh to the thoughts and say: "yeah right". We are not our thoughts. We are not anxiety. We are the individual that decides what to focus on. That's where our power lies. Not in controlling or getting rid of thoughts but in the decision to focus on something else even when OCD is screaming at us. We are and will be ok. It takes practice, time and patience but it gets better.

I struggle so bad with intrusive thoughts. They can be so bad that I'll cry because I KNOW that's not how I feel or want to do. (Too embarrassed to say what they're about) I'll constantly try to figure out why I have them, and constantly figure out what they mean, causing me to constantly circle around and around. I had to get on anxeity meds, which helped a little but the thoughts still happen. How do you help yourself with this? How do you know that you're just not some physcopath? 😅

I find that the intrusive thoughts that hurt me the most are the quiet ones. The ones that, at a glance, can be hard to differentiate from your own thoughts. The louder thoughts are easy to diffuse, to say "maybe, maybe not" to but the quiet ones leave me ruminating for hours trying to figure out if they're mine or OCD's. They leave me feeling disconnected from those around me and even from myself. I can go from happily thinking about marrying my boyfriend in the future to feeling like I have never actually loved him in a matter of minutes all because a thought was a whisper rather than a scream. This is my first post and I'm not sure what I'm looking for in making it. Advice? To know I'm not alone? I guess if there's anything you feel the need to share I'd love to hear it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how OCD changes the way we see ourselves, but I recently realized that I am not my thoughts. Just because a thought pops up doesn’t mean it’s true or that it defines me. I’ve started learning how to see OCD for what it is—just a disorder trying to trick me—and I’ve become stronger in dealing with it. Has anyone else here had a similar realization? How do you handle these thoughts when they show up?