- Username
- Kids4Christ
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 2y ago
Allow yourself some grace. You can use a self-compassion statement to help, such as “I give myself permission to not need all the answers.” Compassion towards OCD can be another approach. “OCD, I know this will scare you, but I’m not going to do your compulsion/rumination. I’m going to be brave, and trust the process. I’ve got this, and we can handle it.” Take care and hope you feel better soon.
So talk to it kind of? I felt I was taking big leaps and just this week has been rough! I hope you have a wonderful day
@Anonymous You bet. Through ERP my therapist at NOCD has been really helpful in showing me different tools to acknowledge the obsession, and sit with the uncertainty/anxiety. The self compassion piece can help, and is one of the many behavior and mindfulness tools out there. Mindfulness practices daily can help support as you do ERP.
Are you in ERP therapy?
Yes. Been leaning into it. Jus feel so uncomfortable & anxious doing my exposures. I have HOCD. And reading about other peoples stuff I notice my ocd try to get latched onto their stuff. I notice how positive and uplifting you are in this app! Please give tips
Never knew I had OCD until about 3-4 months ago: always been a clean person sometimes over the top with it but just ignore it lol started having intrusive thoughts ab my family and looking up stuff and seeking that reassurance has kind of made this snowball
@Anonymous Including ERP therapy, start practicing mindfulness, yoga or meditation, exercise, get on a daily schedule (including morning and bedtime schedule), limit phone/computer usage, get into a hobby or two, don’t ever give into your OCD because it’ll only make things worse, and remind yourself often that you have personal agency and you don’t have to put up with OCD. Feelings are not facts.
I feel for you so much. This disorder is hard. It can take many things from us and there is hope. We can live in recovery and OCD is very manageable. I am so glad to hear that you are doing ERP. The key is to be consistent with homework and practicing the skills. Give yourself credit for all that you are doing and recognize that you are in fact living with one of the worlds top 10 most debilitating illnesses and you are doing it. Join some of our free support groups too- these are super helpful. You are not alone in this.
John Hershfield’s book on Everyday Mindfulness is a great read, I’d recommend it to anyone in their recovery.
I got triggered today and spent a big chunk of the day trying to sit with the discomfort. I started to feel better but then I gave in to my compulsions. I think it was about an hour or so of doing it. I’m exhausted now. I feel like I’m going mental. Details below.. skip if you can’t be bothered to read.. I just fixate and struggle with every little thing I see on my son.. like are these white marks on his skin related to the condition I read about. Are these brown marks related? His black hair has browny red through it, so my thoughts were what if these patches turn white per symptoms of this conditions? What if this happens? What if that happens? While he slept I spent the hour combing through his hair trying to see where it was lightening to see how light it is in case it turns white. He has two strands of hair that did this. So my mind connected the dots incorrectly and is running wild thinking more of this will happen thus indicating he has this condition. Anxiety/ocd is about accepting uncertainty but I guess today is just a hard day for me, and this makes me feel hopeless and sad. Could use some advice especially from parents who’ve been through something similar
Does anyone have any tips/calm down routine/ mental health ritual they do for days where ocd is bad? I’d love some tips.
Hey guys. So I just had a pretty big relapse in my ocd, the first one since I started going to therapy. At first it was hard to accept that I had gone back to old patterns, but I’m trying to look at it as a chance to do better for myself this time. A chance to handle it with compassion, kindness and regard for myself rather than the disgust and shame I felt during my first big ocd episode. Here are some things I’ve been doing that have helped: Epsom salt baths- what I’ve realized is that it doesn’t serve me to be anxious all the time. I need to calm my body down so I can feel hunger, and have moments of clarity. And these baths help a lot - the magnesium really helps relax and give you a moment to be comfortable in your body. Remember to eat and drink enough water. Right now, your mind is running wild and your body is responding as if it’s in fight or flight mode- make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Gratitude practice- I know that it can seem really hard to find the positive during a really intense OCD episode. But what I’ve found is that if I make the effort to recognize the good in my life, even if it’s as small as “I had the money to buy myself some epsom salts to take care of myself” or “I’m grateful for that sunset I just saw” has helped me keep my spirits more alive even if my brain wants to pull me into rumination. Crying - let yourself have a release. One thing I like to do is imagine my mom or an older version of myself coming in the room and comforting me. It helps to imagine what you would say to a loved one that just had the day you had. For example: if my head really hurts from ruminating all day - I’ll take the time to drink water and take some medicine. Then I’ll think about what I would say to someone who dealt with the stress, anxiety, and rumination that I just had that day. Well a lot of times (and we want to stay away from reassurance with this) I’ll say to myself “I can’t tell you whether or not your obsessions are true. But I can tell you that I love you and I’m here for you no matter what.” And I find this is a great way of reinforcing your relationship with self as you learn to trust your ability to navigate difficult flare ups. Holding your own hand, being the support you need, can make the world of a difference. Doing exposures in real life. I’ve found that doing exposures have made me feel empowered again, even if that only lasts for a little bit. I’ve found that not planning exposures as much and just going about my life saying “Right now, what would I do if I didn’t have ocd?” Or being spontaneous anyways even if it feels uncomfortable has helped. Look objectively at your day. Are you spending two hours laying in bed in the morning before you get up? Maybe eliminating that or paring it down intentionally will help you reduce rumination. Taking supplements - fish oil, b6 vitamin, vitamin c, vitamin d are all ones I take every day and help keep my immune system up and my brain functioning a bit better. Keep a feelings journal. Staying in touch with your emotions is really important. I’ve found it to really help me break out of ocd as I can say to it “I hear you, OCD. But my inner child is really sad right now, and I’m going to direct my attention towards her rather than engage in rumination.” At the end of the day we can’t help what our brains might want to do. They might want to ruminate, mentally review, make us afraid and anxious and have irrational doubts. But we can control the ways that we treat ourselves, and what we direct our attention towards. May we direct our attention towards the good in our lives, towards care and love and moments of peace, because that will start to being more of that in. You know what they say “What you focus on gets bigger”. And I would say that especially if you are dealing with ocd - you deserve even more love and compassion - and hopefully I’ve been able to give you some tips that might help foster that as well. Feel free to add your own methods of dealing with OCD below. And hey, to anyone struggling through their own relapse right now - I get it. It sucks. But it’s also within your control to make it better - and I believe in you. I’m so proud of anyone out there fighting ocd right now. Fighting for the big, beautiful life that you deserve. Stay strong ❤️ You can do this.
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