- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
I have a suggestion that greatly helped me out during one of the most difficult times during one of the most intense struggles with my OCD. It works like this: First you have your obsessive thought (for example: like did I go on a criminal rampage just now?) Then your spike of MAJOR anxiety occurs…. Then you start ruminating about all the details about the imagined event in question and reasons why this event NEVER HAPPENED…this is where you then apply this technique I came up with that helped me…immediately STOP ruminating and simply make note of your vitals.. your heart rate, respiration and perspiration…as long as actual environment you’re in supports a reason to be sweating and your vitals are normal then it stands to reason that your obsession is completely FALSE because one cannot commit such an act without increasing their heart rate and respiration etc… I hope this was beneficial. Good luck to you.
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you so much for responding! That’s a really good idea to try. It brings logic when your brain isn’t being rational. It also brings you back to the moment. I will definitely try next time I need to. Thank you so much and good luck to you as well!
- Date posted
- 3y
@hannie Absolutely. Anytime.
- Date posted
- 3y
The YouTube video "ocd: starving the monster" helped me. It helps me to just agree with the ocd (even though that sounds painful.) When you start questioning your sanity, just agree with the intrusive thought, like "yep, I've definitely lost it." It throws your ocd off and stops fueling the obsession. It really helps me. My husband helps me when I bring up am obsession, like, "what if I ruined our kids' lives by letting them watch too much TV? What if our daughter has adhd and it's totally my fault for letting her watch disneyplus??" And my husband (who has learned how to better recognize ocd and help me with it) will say "yeah, you probably ruined their lives, and she probably does have adhd and it definitely is because of the Disney plus shows." It sounds awful and mean, but it helps me so much!! From there, we just laugh and I move on with my day.
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you so much for replying!! I am gonna watch the video! That’s so awesome that you got to a point you to laugh it off. That gives me hope actually! I’m gonna just sit there with the anxiety next time and agree with it. I know that’s the only way through it. Thank you so much again for really good advice. I needed it cause I have not been ok the last few days.
- Date posted
- 3y
@hannie 😃👍 you've got this! There really is hope! My life is much more meaningful now that it was before i had tools/skills for managing my ocd.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I need advice for intrusive thoughts. I used to feel like I could handle them. They weren’t nearly as bad as the things that related to my actual life. But now, I’m suffering. I haven’t had a sexual experience in over a year that didn’t involve constant intrusive thoughts. Most are somehow related to kids and I keep chasing off the thoughts but it’s so bad. I know you’re supposed to ignore them but I don’t know how I can just ignore that and continue what I’m doing. But they’re coming on stronger. I had one earlier I could not get rid of just as things finished so the thought came on strongly just before my orgasm hit and now I feel absolutely disgusting. I hated the thought and I know it’s not me and it was not enjoyable but it still feels like I was getting off to it. I feel sick. I’m so fucking tired of these thoughts. They’re in my every day life too and it’s all the time. I just want it to stop but ignoring it feels so wrong. What should I do?
- Date posted
- 21w
I been dealing with OCD my entire life but recently I been finding it really difficult to find the slightest relief. I know it’s not good to do but I been trying not to think of the thoughts but of course they come back even stronger. Does anyone know what I could do in the meanwhile ? Thank you
- Date posted
- 18w
I’ve been stuck in this cycle for the last month or two and am not sure how to get out of it. Basically, I will work on ignoring the thoughts and not responding or engaging plus limiting/completely eliminating compulsions. After a week or two of constant work, the amount of intrusive thoughts in a day goes down. The anxiety each thought causes also goes down with some, but not all, thoughts passing without notice like they would for a normal person. The thoughts that do stick cause anxiety and make me want to ruminate or do other compulsions but I make sure to limit them. After a bit, I’m in a pretty good head space. This is usually when it goes down hill. I’ll start to question if I even have ocd because some of the thoughts (once again not all) pass without notice. The difficulty resisting compulsions goes down and so does the anxiety, only increasing the questioning. I spend a while questioning if I’ve ever had ocd in the first place and then something sets me off or the questioning itself becomes a trigger and I get stuck back into the same ocd cycle with constant rumination, anxiety, and other compulsions. This lasts for a week or two before I know I need to stop and try and work hard to get back to ignoring the thoughts. And the cycle just restarts over and over again. Does anyone have any tips to stop this from happening? It’s really harming my recovery as every few weeks I dive back into the same negative place I was.
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