So a couple of days ago I was reading through some posts on this app and came across someone talking about incest ocd. I was triggered almost immediately and have been having these thoughts about my brother and having imagery in my head about him (I saw his nudes when I was being nosey on his phone one time) and now can’t seem to get it out of my head. I just want these thoughts to end I feel so weird I can’t even be around him. Also, my anxiety isn’t even that high which makes it feel more real. I haven’t been anxious with a lot of ocd thoughts lately and apparently this is a sign I’m getting better because I can carry on with my day as usual. But it does feel more real and like I like the thoughts. Please help.

1. My brain can and will generate “intrusive thoughts” at anytime. 2. I promise to accept them as OCD related thoughts and to realize that they are false alarms. 3. I promise not to allow these false alarms to trigger me to respond by turning these thoughts into feelings of self-doubt and fear. 4. I promise to be kind to myself by not allowing uncontrolled thoughts to run rampant causing me anguish, fatigue and pain. 5. I will not be critical of who I am and will not compare myself to others. I understand that life is precious and that I have a lot to offer everyday

Just accept the anxiety and go about your day like you said, ocd warps a lot and attack’s you from every angle...like you started getting used to the anxiety so now your anxiety is attacking you from the angle of “well if it doesn’t make you as anxious then you must LIKE the thoughts”... I think it’s called a backdoor spike...your brain is trying to make you feel guilty for feeling better Don’t avoid your brother, you got this ?

Embrace the thoughts. You stumbled upon a random exposure by reading what you read and being triggered. The more you fight the thoughts fearing them and wanting them to go away the more strength your OCD is gaining and the more you will be living in these thoughts. I can personally relate to this process. Lately I have intrusive thoughts that can become debilitating where I fear if I was harmed. The more I respond to the thoughts fearfully, the more real it feels. I suddenly feel like I'm living in the thought and it becomes my whole existence.

You need to be around that person. By avoiding them you are giving the thought more power over your actions!