I haven’t done a Q&A for a while, so comment with the your questions and I’ll do my best to answer! My background is: I have 5 different mental illnesses and have been recovered for 3 years after doing 6 years of intense therapy for my PTSD and OCD ❤️
How to treat the thoughts like background noise and not let them affect my day/mood (I've had suicidal ocd for about two years) OH and also lol best recovery tips! I probably have more but that'd all I have rn. I always find that I let my thoughts affect me too much and I feel miserable. I just wanna get better and feel happy
I replied to Melissa above with tips ^
How to sit with an urge/sensation if it feels so real for example wrists tingling if you have a thought of cutting ur arm or of knives
And how to accept these thoughts ??
I don’t take my intrusive thoughts seriously anymore. Just because they pop up in my head doesn’t mean I have to interact with them or pay them any attention. Because at the end of the day, detach from your brain and truly ask yourself, who cares? You’re the only one who’s caring because no one else knows of your thoughts except you—but that’s for every single human being out there. No one else knows one another’s thoughts unless they share them. Your actions matter, not your thoughts. Start practing mindfulness now because though it takes a while to get working, it’s absolutely worth it. Also, if you haven’t gone to see an OCD specialist for ERP, please do so.
@Nica What if they seem constant and unrelenting like the thoughts are just always there which is causing these feelings . It’s hard to ignore them
@NrseKris They’re relentless because you’re fighting against them. You’re signaling to your brain that what it’s showing you is dangerous/bad and to keep showing you these images, intrusive thoughts, and feelings. You cannot control your thoughts but you can control your reaction to them.
@Nica Last question I promise. Would it be better to say things like “yea I don’t care whatever” to the thoughts or try to ignore and not say anything ? I really don’t wana act on them but I’m scared if they don’t go away that they will cause me to lose my mind or hurt myself
@NrseKris Don’t reply to your thoughts, feelings, or images; that’s interacting with them. You need to live by the saying, “Maybe, maybe not.” Life is uncertain for everyone.
@Nica Did your thoughts and feelings ever feel like 24/7 non stop like how do we not go crazy if it’s constant
@NrseKris Yup. I mean, it still does that. Just because your brain is thinking on its own doesn’t mean you need to pay attention to any of it.
@Nica What’s the difference between an ocd urge and like someone’s urge to smoke or drink ? I know you have to chose to act on something but I’m scared of acting on a urge or impulse
@NrseKris You should ask your therapist as they are better to speak on that.
@livefornow I’m scared to cry. I’m scared that means somethings really wrong with me. I’m also starting to think I’m spending too much time on these apps or researching anxiety and ocd like my whole day revolves around the subject
What does it feel like being recovered? Did you ever have times you doubted erp and it’s progress?
Recovery is amazing because I’m living my full, happy life! I never doubted my therapist and ERP because I’ve been seeing my therapist for a decade now and I trust him fully.
Have you ever experienced somatic OCD? Sometimes I become overly sensitive to my breathing and bodily sensations for hours. I’ve read other people on here saying that it’s to the point where they feel like their breathing, blinking, etc is 24/7 on “manual mode.” That gets me in my head bc I’m scared that will happen to me which makes me think about it more which makes it feel like that’s closer to happening. I guess my question is how do I deal with focusing on my own obsessions without allowing other peoples progression to get in my head? This app and other OCD resources have been such a big help but sometimes they can be a detriment as well. Then again if you’re truly recovered you should probably be able to read things without getting so triggered by them. Sorry this is kind of ramble-y
Yes, I had that for variou body parts. You’re extremely aware of your body parts only because you’re obsessing over them. Doomscrolling on here—just like every other social media platform—is bad for your mental health. It’s that simple. You don’t need to be on this app for more than, let’s say, an hour a day unless you’re also doing therapy—which I highly suggest doing. Doomscrolling is the bane of everyone’s mental health.
How can you tell if you are having intrusive thoughts, or if you are in a growth state of being more self aware and understanding yourself better?
As in you’re having bad thoughts and that’s “the true you?” Because they thought process is from OCD. You don’t magically think into being, for example, a serial killer. There’s A LOT more to being a serial killer than just thoughts.
@Nica Thank you that was helpful
@Nica Not exactly (but maybe). For example, I heard someone talk about how sometimes we're afraid to get better because we're used to the anxiety. That thought gave me a bit of anxiety. I don't know if that's from OCD or from realizing that might be the state of mind I'm in.
@Maeday Yes, that’s true. People can definitely chang but often don’t because they’re either scared or it’s a lot of work. But honestly, you must decide if you want to stay stuck and feel horrible or put in the work and live your best life.
do u feel like u did before when u recovered from ocd? I feel like i’ve lost myself and the way i look at life all because of my intrusive thoughts, but i think i’m getting better which is brill
I’ve had mental illnesses since I was a young child, so there’s no “feel like I did before.” It was always high anxiety and then when I was abused, I was run by my PTSD. But after intense therapy for my multiple mental illnesses, I finally found relief.
@Nica aw that’s great
Hi do you have any tips to start accepting ur thoughts sometimes it’s hard ? And also how do you sit with a feeling like for example I have Rocd so right now i have the feeling I don’t love my bf anymore and I don’t like this feeling but how can I just sit with it you know being able to live my life without caring about it too much. My goal is to be oh ok I have this feeling I don’t care im gonna do…
You need to let go of the idea that your thoughts, feelings, and images can be controlled. They can’t. But YOU can control your actions and responses to them. That’s they key: throwing up your hands and living by the saying, “Maybe, maybe not.” Life is uncertainty. Also getting on a daily routine, exercise, practing mindfulness, getting off your phone for most of the day/night because that doesn’t help anyone—much less people with mental illnesses— and getting into ERP therapy. And medications if your therapist suggests that.
@Nica Thank you 🙏
Also how do I really, truly accept uncertainty and like stop mental compulsions (self reassureance, praying, rumination)
It’s an ongoing, long process. It’ll take a long time. I’m 9 years into this process (6 years of therapy and 3 years of recovery) and it took about 5 years of practicing mindfulness to it fully take effect. Our minds are like chaotic beehives but we want it to become like the sky and our thoughts like clouds. I talk about this in another reply, so I suggest reading up ⬆️ And getting into ERP therapy if you aren’t already. You need therapy as well as practicing mindfulness.
@Nica Where can you do mindfulness ?
@melissaaa You do it on your own. I suggest looking into Thich Nhat Hanh to start studying, also Ram Dass, Sam Harris, the Buddha… it’s a practice from Hinduism and Buddhism and there are many studies that have proven secular practices of mindfulness is legitimate.
@Nica Oh thanks a lot
@Nica Did you ever have harm ocd thoughts towards yourself or others
@NrseKris Yes, all the time.
@Nica That gives me hope that I can recover. I want to fully recover and live a happy life and fall in love and travel and maybe even have a baby but I feel like this is all holding me back. I’m scared of not getting bettet
*Q + A* Hi Everyone! My name is Kerry and I have suffered from severe OCD since 2008. It came on after a bad car accident and I had shown no signs prior to that. I was 17 and now I’m 28. I saw many therapists untrained in OCD, and it wasn’t until I met an OCD Specialist and went through weeks of intensive therapy using ERP that I started to really question the connection between my obsessions and the effect I had on my reality by performing my compulsions which were totally random (anything you can think of!) I mainly suffer from magical thinking OCD which is basically like “superstition on steroids” - it follows along and targets with my everyday anxieties and my obsessions try and tell me if I perform certain, ever changing compulsions, that I can make or prevent things from happening. This has morphed into multiple themes of OCD, but also follows along with my real life which is hard. BUT I can honestly say I am in a state of ongoing recovery from OCD because I truly understand it’s sick game now and I am able to stop it in it’s tracks before performing compulsions. I’m not perfect and will always have OCD, but I wanted to open up a Q + A session today for you all to ask any questions you may have for me. To give you all some hope, I just published my OCD memoir “The Obsessive Outsider” and I’m so thankful to have added a resource to our world from a sufferer’s perspective. My goal is to eventually help you all get to a point where you can share your stories like I have because it’s so empowering. Hit me with your questions, friends!
Hey nocd community! I won't be taking anymore questions at this time, but I look forward to doing another Q&A soon! For 12 years I lived in silence and shame with the debilitating symptoms of Pure O/Intrusive Thoughts. I believe every person living with mental illness is worthy of a good life, love, happiness, and deserves the chance to live in recovery.
Hey nOCD Fam! Opening up a Q+A session all day today if you have any questions on OCD Recovery and what life is like in recovery with OCD still there but maintained, if you are a skeptic if it because you are suffering so much, how ERP worked for me, anything. Love chatting with you guys, thanks for letting me lend a hand!
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