Tips for climbing out of the rabbit hole 🐰

Hey community, hope you’re all having a good weekend. I was curious if anyone has tips or strategies that are helpful to you to catch yourself when you’re in the rabbit hole of rumination? My main compulsions are mental. The good days have been great, but then my obsession sets in and I start down the rabbit hole of rumination because of the overwhelming fear that it might be true. It almost feels like I’m aware that I’m gaslighting myself, and then have the urge to disprove it because believing it would be horrific. How do you catch yourself when you’re doing mental compulsions and accept the uncertainty in moments of high anxiety? Thanks so much!

Username: Stephanie1989Stephanie1989

Date posted: 2y ago

Honestly I find that some days I'm good at turning it around, and others I just can't. Those ebbs and flows may never stop...but what does sometimes help me is shifting my focus to the bigger picture, zooming way, way out. I mean thinking about myself and the details of my life that I fret over against this entire universe, and reminding myself that at the end of it all, I will have died anyway, no matter what fears come true and what ones don't . That may sound depressing or morbid, but I mean it in such a positive way - for me, it is such a relief to realize (over and over, on my good days) that nothing really matters. If you can find the right angle, there's a lot of freedom in that truth.

Username: dragon_calvesdragon_calves

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

@Stephanie1989 That thought actually gives me a lot of comfort too! The idea that you can’t actually “mess up” because it doesn’t really matter. There is a freedom in it. Thanks!

Username: Phillip91Phillip91

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

@Stephanie1989 Love that mindset. I used to be religious and that was my way of accepting my place in the universe. That’s fallen by the wayside which has made it difficult to find comfort in the unknown. I’m gonna try and adopt your mindset! Thank you for sharing!

Username: dragon_calvesdragon_calves

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

I struggle with this a lot! I’d love to hear other answers. What I think may help is doing anything to get out of your brain. I haven’t mastered the accepting uncertainty part at all.

Username: Phillip91Phillip91

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

@dragon_calves Thanks for sharing your struggles. I seem to just circle the same existential questions over and over again. I wanna stop torturing myself and live my life instead of contemplating it haha

Username: cucumbercucumber

Date posted: 2y ago

I am struggling with this too, it's one of the hardest habits to break so I feel you. But I read and my therapist told me that when our body is in fight or flight we can't rationalize and think our way out of feeling better. If you have high anxiety and have an Instagram, if recommend https://instagram.com/annatheanxietycoach?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= She has tips to calm down your nervous system when in high anxiety states. So when your body isn't that anxious do some exercises for the ruminating. I struggle with this too so it's alot better said then done.

Username: Phillip91Phillip91

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

@cucumber Thanks so much for sharing! I’ll check her stuff out. I think what you said is a good thing for me to realize - when you’re in a high anxiety state you can’t think rationally. My worries feel so real when I’m anxious, it’s tough to realize it’s just fear.

Username: Christian

Date posted: 6y ago

Hello everyone! (Existential Obsessions) I have struggled with anxiety since I was a young boy. I remember worrying when I was younger that I was inadvertently trying to harm my mother, even though I love my mother more than anyone in the world. It’s shifted more times than I can count, from worrying about poisoning or contamination to thinking that I had heart disease. It’s all the same animal just shape shifting into whatever I fear most at the given time. Currently, (trigger warning) I am constantly obsessed with the fear of developing some sort of delusion or schizophrenia. I am 25 years old (I know that it would’ve probably developed by now) and have no schizophrenia in my gene pool. But I am constantly checking my thoughts to see if they sound delusional or if I am hallucinating my reality. This of course if extremely frustrating for someone with OCD because there is never going to be any definitive proof that I am not going mad. It has caused me extreme discomfort over the past few months and has brought me to extreme states of panic. I was wondering if any of you deal with existential OCD or fears of losing touch with reality. Of course, some days this seems laughable and others I can almost taste the insanity. On paper, everything in my life is going amazingly but in truth I can’t seem to enjoy any of it because I have these nightmarish intrusions of everything falling apart around me. Is this a common symptom? P.S I already run a few miles a day, meditate, do yoga and am working on strengthening my CBT. Any other suggestions?

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 3y ago

Hi guys! Was wanting some tips on ERP. I am just getting started & trying to read articles about being codependent, happy engagement stories but my mind when I try to sit with “maybe I am, maybe I’m not. Life is uncertain.” Will come up with more rabbit hole thoughts of I’m crazy have every mental illness out there etc. does anyone have tips for experiencing all day anxiety/panic attacks & fear of doing an exposure wrong? I am scared I won’t get better bc I’m not doing it right.

Username: cb21

Date posted: 3y ago

What do you all do when you have a handful of tricky weeks? I’ve been feeling pretty good, but the last few weeks I have noticed my SOOCD and Pure OCD sneaking in and have ruminated a whole lot more. Just some background: -happily married to my husband with kids. -All types of OCD in my past, but SOOCD has been the theme now for awhile. -definitely having trouble considering the fluidity of the idea of sexuality in general. Also triggered by later in life coming out stories. -my SOOCD has been manageable but lately it’s just been in the background—like a mosquito—just there enough to notice and I’m definitely attaching meaning to the thoughts. Which turns into a cycle of rumination. Argh! - Returning to my ERP exercises. Is this what most people do? Feeling a bit stuck. Not looking for any reassurance just support—sometimes knowing I’m not the only one is a bit of the push I need. It’s just nice to know we all have each other’s backs! 😊❤️

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Tips for climbing out of the rabbit hole 🐰

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