- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
My understanding is the more you fight against it, the more you tell your brain that this is a problem and it registers as such. Bug then it's complicated with emotions because those can't always be ignored or moved on with right away, takes time with emotional thoughts or reactions I think
- Date posted
- 3y
*But then
- Date posted
- 3y
I feel you. Especially that zero to terror in seconds, bull's eye. The thing is the more you try not to think on something the more you actually feed it. I'm using the approach of being sarcastic with the thoughts. Saying things like: "Yeah right" or "Sure. That's what's it is" and scoffing. The anxiety doesn't disappear immediately but makes the next wave shorter and less scary. I heard some other people using basically the same approach with good results. Fear it's a bully and the only thing to do it's face it and saying to it: "no more!". "You will not tell me what to do or not". And then do the opposite. See OCD makes us think we will do terrible things or worse it tells us we are horrible, bad, crazy or any number of adjectives that are a 100% lies. You see that's the voice of shame. It's not our voice. Now it's not about suppressing the voice or running away from it but more about not giving importance to it by arguing or doing compulsions. Again: "yeah right though". It's a process not a I got it all figured it out. The more we practice the better we get. That's actually ERP. Face the fear with boldness by moving on and by not giving into compulsions but by giving up on trying to fix or control our thoughts. Today I say: "I give up. I will not fix anything because I don't need fixing for thoughts on things that I actually care.". That's the thing. The fact we get stressed is proof we aren't in agreement with those thoughts. We just need them to let them pass by the same way we would let someone we don't care about pass by. Doesn't matter how much they scream. Hope this helps.
- Date posted
- 3y
Same
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
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? 😅
- Date posted
- 20w
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
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- Date posted
- 19w
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.
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