- Date posted
- 3y
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Hello! You’re right OCD thoughts feel so real, I’ve experienced it as well. I push myself by thinking about how much happier I will be when I get over these thoughts. These thoughts have stolen so much of our time and energy. OCD has ruined our days and our life experiences. Think of how much OCD has taken from you. Use that as motivation to beat this. Take it one day at a time, second by second. What can you do in this moment to better yourself? Don’t worry about the future and what else you will need to face with ERP. Just focus on the current moment and keep building on the momentum. You got this!
- Date posted
- 3y
I tell myself that I'm tougher than I feel. And my OCD proves it. Listen: you have lived with OCD. That is *hard* to do. It's exhausting, distracting, overwhelming... Before you ever had a name for it, you were carrying that heavy load all the time and my guess is that you were doing it alone. ERP is not easy. But you are no longer alone and *now,* carrying this burden has a purpose. Now you are pursuing your recovery. That's tremendous! And through ERP with a therapist, you are only picking up as much as you know you can handle. You're learning that you are capable of holding much more discomfort and uncertainty than your OCD ever let you believe before. So when the thoughts feel real (and of course they do! this is our old pal OCD we're talking about; we know exactly how real those things feel, that's why we're here!), you tell yourself what you already know: "I can handle this." It will pass. And like Greg said, it's helpful to remember why you're here (what OCD has taken from you) and where you're headed (the recovery your OCD is heading into). OCD is tough, but you are tougher, friend. You've got this!
- Date posted
- 3y
What did you say to yourself when your thoughts felt so real and you get lost in them and stuck in a loop?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Try to take your mind off of the thought by doing something you like. It’s okay that the thoughts are coming in. Just let the thoughts be there. Try not to analyze them. I know it’s so rough being stuck in the loop. You have to break the cycle of OCD by cutting out compulsions. This will stop you being stuck in a loop. You can do this!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
I used to get caught in a loop with existential thoughts very frequently. Every question made my stomach drop: (TW: existential questions) … … ... "Why does anything exist at all? What will death be like? Is anything even real? Is there any meaning to this? Is the universe infinitely big, and if not, what's beyond it? Are there multiverses? Has the universe been around forever? Will the universe end for good, or will it keep going forever? What is forever like? What even IS reality?" It would get so overwhelming that I remember lying on the floor in a fetal position for hours because I felt like there was no escape. I spent most of my days reading articles and watching videos about theoretical astrophysics and philosophy in a desperate attempt to "figure it all out." Of course that only made me more anxious, raised more questions, and kept me trapped in the cycle. Things started to improve once I learned to turn TOWARD reality, rather than away from it, and ERP really helped me do that. I learned that these questions weren't the problem. I learned that I can actually handle the anxiety that arises when exposed to these ideas and concepts. I don't have to figure anything out to make the anxiety go away; it arises and passes away on its own. Ironically, bringing myself into the present moment and becoming more aware of reality helped me escape the cycle of existential dread. Because of that, this topic no longer takes over my life. If I'm triggered by something I see, hear, or think, I may still feel a little twang of anxiety, but then it just goes away. "Maybe, maybe not" has been the single most useful phrase of my life. Do you ever get trapped in a cycle of existential questions? Are you worried that the ERP approach would be too scary to handle? If so, I'm happy to give my advice.
- Date posted
- 15w
Hi - just for some context, I have OCD and ADHD. I hate bringing this up, but with these diagnoses, when intertwined, there is ALWAYS a thought. I never stop thinking. This is really hard, especially because I feel like I always need to be talking to someone. Whether it’s my friends or family, talking to people brings me down to earth from certain kinds of thought spirals. However, when I’m alone it is the hardest. When my friends don’t reply I have this compulsion to text again or I need to constantly check my notifications so that I have none left to check. But then to them or new people I talk to, this behavior probably comes across as overwhelming or too much. I’m trying to control it and use erp, but also, I have my moments where I’m just vunerable and give into the compulsion. It’s genuinely so embarassing and maybe not as big a deal as I’m making it out to be but, how do I manage? And how do I relax?
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