Am i doing this right?

I have avoided knives for two years since i first started having ocd thoughts. I have only just educated myself on ocd and ive learned all about erp and stuff but i feel terrified whenever im near knives and today my mum wanted me to wash up and there was a knife in the sink and i was so scared, i didnt want to touch it or look at it and it made me want to run away i was so scared that id hurt someone and when i picked it up i felt like i was going to hurt someone and it’s terrifying i dont want to be like this. Is it right that i put myself in positions were im around knives? Like should i be avoiding them? I feel better when i avoid them but im starting to think its not the right thing to do.

Harm OCD

Username: A23A23

Date posted: 2y ago

Yeah avoidance is temporary and prolongs the fear, better to tackle the fear and slowly but surely tell your mind "see, nothing happened, can u chill now?" That's pretty much ERP haha

Username: A23A23

Date posted: 2y ago

U don't actually tell your mind to chill btw meant that jokingly, don't argue with OCD like that 😅

Username: A23A23

Date posted: 2y ago

@A23 Not passively aggressively

Username: PrivacyyyxPrivacyyyx

Date posted: 2y ago

Thank you!

Username: justsomeone justsomeone

Date posted: 2y ago

I will say slowly try not to avoid them. My harm OCD started with knives(with an specific one) I was avoiding it but not anymore. I came to the realization that avoiding them did no help and I was just feeding my OCD. Now I don’t get much intrusive thoughts with knives or when I get them I just watch them come and go. Basically they do not affect me like they used to. I totally get how you are feeling, you got this🫂

Username: PrivacyyyxPrivacyyyx

Date posted: 2y ago

Thank you so much, knowing someone has felt the same and has learned to overcome it really encourages me to keep going 💗

Username: PrivacyyyxPrivacyyyx

Date posted: 2y ago

For me its only the sharp ones

Username: ashleybooashleyboo

Date posted: 2y ago

I’ve been in a position before with a knife and the knife was in my room from eating some cheese so I just picked it up and walked out of my room with it and put it in the kitchen sink

Username: redmuse22redmuse22

Date posted: 2y ago

The ultimate goal is to go towards the things we avoid and let our brains learn that all the panic and bad feelings aren't necessary. When you continue to avoid the knives it makes a connection in your brain. Like ah yes, they listened to my knife alarm!! It worked!! I'll make sure to make the knife alarm even louder next time 😌😎. The more reinforcement we give, the stronger the compulsion. That being said, you don't just tackle the hardest thing head on at first. ERP is gradual so you are challenging yourself but not becoming overwhelmed.

Username: Anon17

Date posted: 2y ago

Nervous about having no reactions

So I’m trying to practice living with uncertainty because i know that’s what needs to be done in order to cope with ocd. And i struggle with super bad Harm intrusive thoughts that bother me every day. And today I’m trying to practice uncertainty by saying maybe or maybe not. And then one of the times i said “maybe your a killer maybe your not” and it brought me ZERO anxiety. Like I’m now freaking out because i had no reaction to a sentence that should have caused me intense distress. Like what does that mean am i really a bad person??? And also for my harmful images or thoughts it includes stabbing with a knife. And It seems like when i touch a knife i have no reaction to it. Like I’m constantly hearing stories of people avoiding knives because they are afraid but holding a knife is something i do everyday as a cook and i feel completely fine with it. Like shouldn’t it be causing me Anxious feelings? What if I’m secretly a bad person because Holding a knife is natural to me? I’m so scared.

Username: Ocdlife123

Date posted: 1y ago

Please help or advice

Everytime i listen to someones harm ocd story they always say they would avoid knifes or avoid driving or avoid being around certain people/places objects to MAKE SURE this intrusive obsession does not happen! I don’t avoid!! I still have to be around my animal, i still cook with knifes even though it really feels like im about to do it! I still keep the things in my house that im thinking of using for harm ( objects ect) I really dont understand why im not avoiding these things to make sure it doesn’t happen if i get the feeling or truly believe i could do it im about to do it! Please advice i just feel like i must deep down want to do it if im not preventing it from happening in anyway! I feel like i have no compulsions so this cant be ocd

Harm OCD

Username: Sammyanns

Date posted: 44w ago

Maybe made an ERP mistake

I haven’t posted here in a while. I’ve been in ERP therapy and it’s been slow but I feel better, even though it’s only been a few months. The problem is, we’re starting slow because my trigger is sharp objects, and I think I made a mistake. The guy i’m seeing is at work and asked me to prep dinner by cutting the chicken and I thought even though i haven’t used a sharp object to cut meat in MONTHS, I thought I maybe could do it. Well, I cut the chicken and it was extremely thick, and made me have the worst intrusive thoughts. Did I mess up? I’m kind of freaking out. Did I get satisfaction from cutting into a thick meat? I’m scared

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