My third day into Los Angeles and I’m still tempted to do more compulsions which make my OCD even worse despite what my intrusive thoughts are telling me in order to be safe. First day of university classes start next week and I’m already feeling anxious about it because of the fear my obsessive thoughts/ruminations interfering with my college life.
There is nothing to fear. You ve dealt with OCD at home, that means you can deal with it when you are in a different place. It is normal to have intrusive thoughts and feel anxious because of them. That doesn't mean they are true. Because they are not. But instead of giving into your compulsions, you have to resist them. It is hard i know but you should keep trying. Instead of reassuring yourself or ruminating you should try and sit with them. Let them come and go. But just observe them do not try to fight them with logic. Thoughts are like water. Once it leaks, you can't stop it. It always finds a way. What you can do is to do nothing. It will dry on its own in time.
@zzyyxx Resist my OCD? Whenever I try to resist, it usually leaves one side of my head hurting like hell until I give in the intrusive thoughts.
I'm not telling you to resist your OCD or your intrusive thoughts. In fact let these thoughts come to you. Then do nothing to ease your anxiety. Resist your compulsions. It is an important step to learn to live with the uncertainty. Because compulsions only ease your anxiety for a short period of time. Compulsions only feed your OCD. When intrusive thoughts come to your mind, just accept their existence (i'm not telling you to accept that they are real because they are not) just recognize them amd observe them without engaging them. Try not to perform your mental compulsions like reassurance seeking, ruminating or replaying past events or memories to find any "evidence" or physical compulsions if you have any. Let the thoughts stay there and do nothing to get rid of them. It is hard but you can do it. Despite the anxiety, try to continue your daily activities without engaging the thoughts. It is a painful process but with persistence and practice, it gets easier. OCD, is as powerful as the importance and attention we give to the intrusive thoughts. If you give them too much attention it only gets stronger and more uncomfortable. The key is to be able to tolerate uncertainty and to be able to live with the doubt.