- 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
- 16w
I’m definitely having an episode right now. A few times I’ve thought about coming onto this app and writing something but then I spiral further and further and I forget about anything except what’s triggering me. Then I think about this app again and intend to write a post… but again I’m spiraling too hard to focus on anything else. But I finally ended up here because I got an email from NOCD. I opened it and read about someone who ‘overcame their OCD.’ It made me spiral harder, because I genuinely don’t understand how someone can control this. How do I stop? How do I silence my brain? I was told to sit with my thoughts and not try to divert them, but if I do that I have an extreme episode so bad that I feel disconnected from myself. I looked at myself in the mirror and it felt like my eyes were seeing someone standing in front of me and not my reflection. It scares me to think that I will be experiencing these episodes forever. I literally just put my phone down twice because I thought my cat was choking to death because he had a hairball (he’s fine) I just feel like I can’t see a way out of this. It’s not curable, and I don’t understand how someone can ‘conquer’ something that feels so out of control Obviously it’s possible, but unfortunately that reassurance doesn’t always break through the most awful thoughts Sometimes there’s nothing that can make me calm down, I just have to ride it out I hope there’s never a day where it’s so out of control that I can’t keep it in at work, and I ruin my own life by having a severe panic attack while I’m there and being fired. If I had the type of episodes at work that I have consistently at home, I would be so humiliated. It scares me. I’m trying so hard to be normal like everyone else. I just want to be happy. I just want to live.
- Date posted
- 16w
My ocd them has gotten worse and I’m trying my hardest to not look for reassurance. Why does my mind play these tricks on me that I’m saying my thoughts out loud????? I’m trying my hardest to ignore it but it’s making me depressed. When I’m ignoring it my brain will go to “everybody will talk about you” “you said something bad” “you said it out loud and when you’ll live a terrible life”. I don’t know what to do anymore
- Date posted
- 13w
I feel like my life isn't my own anymore. I live by OCD's rules. I can't ever switch it off. I spend most of my day mentally reviewing and constantly checking myself. I have to do things in a certain way or i dont feel safe. All this time that i've lost and for what? Idk how I let thoughts have so much power over my life and yet here I am. Every day. I can't even get away from it in sleep because i have dreams about it and I wake up anxious if i manage to get any sleep at all. I'm so over it all.
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