Magzzz
- Date posted
- 3y
mymindisamessmymindisamess
- Date posted
- 3y
I’ve struggled with this type of OCD. For 10+ years I battled the constant confusion, paralyzing guilt and absolute hopelessness. But it got better for me after practicing exposure therapy and it can for you too!! It’s all about sitting with the discomfort of uncertainty until that habit becomes natural and it no longer feels uncomfortable. Through this technique, now when I get a “what if” thought, I tell myself “maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not.” And I don’t give the thought any weight. I acknowledge it, give it a little wave and let it pass through. That’s the only way forward. You can’t run from the thoughts, you can’t hold onto them and try to seek resolution, you just have to accept them. I never thought I’d get to the place I’m at today, but I did. And this can be your future too!!! Sending love and strength your way <3 IT REALLY DOES GET BETTER
MagzzzMagzzz
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you for sharing your experience and giving me encouragement. I’m dealing with mostly real even ocd with past mistakes. Things when I was younger and didn’t know any better at the time and I hate myself for it. Also with pocd and hocd twisting together I just feel so horrible. I know I’m supposed to say maybe, maybe not but it’s really hard to when my mind keeps telling me I’m a horrible person who deserves to not live and that I’m equivalent to a monster because of the things I didn’t know any better in the past and am now dealing with because ocd won’t let me let it go and it’s holding me back from my future and my goals. I feel sick and I just want to cry all the time.
MagzzzMagzzz
- Date posted
- 3y
@Ope I’m fighting every single day to get better and to get a better mindset this year but the pain from my past mistakes are haunting me and it makes it so hard to move forward but I am trying. Some days are harder than others
MagzzzMagzzz
- Date posted
- 3y
@Ope True
mymindisamessmymindisamess
- Date posted
- 3y
@Ope Yes, I did. Which was one of the biggest triggers for me. Alarm bells would go off but I resisted the urge to replay the scenario and seek reassurance. I let it happen and I told myself “maybe that was bad, maybe it wasn’t.” And I’d move on. It would feel uncomfortable at first and it lingered in the back of my mind like an itch I wasn’t allowed to scratch. But I found that when I didn’t engage, the thought and fear would go away on its own.
mymindisamessmymindisamess
- Date posted
- 3y
@Just Breathe my heart truly aches for you because I was in your place. There is no worse feeling. The guilt is all consuming. But the more you practice exposure therapy, the closer you’ll get to inner peace I promise you. I would go months straight thinking I didn’t deserve happiness. That I was a disgusting, horrible person who didn’t deserve love. But now I realize that’s not true! When you accept the thoughts and don’t engage with them, most of the time they will go away on their own. Everyone has random weird thoughts and feelings. But when you have OCD, alarm bells go off and you latch onto them and question “what does this mean?” So you end up giving the thought power. I know how hard it is to practice exposure therapy and to visualize any situation where you’d be able to brush off the guilt. You’ve built up a habit of needing to check and seek reassurance and beating yourself up. But you can break that habit with time and practice!
mymindisamessmymindisamess
- Date posted
- 3y
@Ope Yes, you should acknowledge these thoughts and feelings without running away or engaging in rituals. Picture having a headache – instead of running away from the pain and wishing it would go away, embrace the feeling and trust that it will pass. But don’t dissect the thought or feeling, don’t seek answers. Just let it happen, accept it and disengage. I promise the more you do this, the easier it will get and the quieter the OCD voice gets.
mymindisamessmymindisamess
- Date posted
- 3y
@Ope Exactly. The fear of it happening is actually what makes it happen! So just let yourself anticipate that it might happen and try not to run from it. Embrace it and then let it go.
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