- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
An important distinction: accepting it doesn’t mean dwelling on it! Accepting that it’s there doesn’t mean that you have to (or that you should) spend your energy thinking about it. This is rumination, which can be a compulsion. Instead, accepting it means accepting that the initial intrusive thought (or series of thoughts if it’s gone that far) occurred to you, knowing that that’s ok/doesn’t have to be significant, and moving forward with whatever you’re doing. Accepting that a feeling (anxiety) is there doesn’t mean focusing on that feeling being there. It’s just trusting that the feeling will pass, even if you don’t DO anything (a compulsion or rumination) to make it pass more quickly.
- Date posted
- 3y
Wow! That was a great explanation of how to deal with accepting intrusive thoughts! :)
- Date posted
- 3y
It will prolong it because you’re not giving OCD what it wants. The anxiety belongs to OCD. Imagine it like a kid in a supermarket asking for sweets - you’re carrying on shopping not giving them sweets & they’re getting more and more agitated - that’s what’s happening to OCD & that’s honestly the best way to RETRAIN your brain to not let the OCD win. I know it’s so hard tho X hope you’re okay as soon as you can be xx
- Date posted
- 3y
I’ve taught myself not to pay any attention to my thoughts going on through my mind, so though I have intrusive thoughts, they don’t become themes anymore. I have accepted I am not my thoughts/they don’t define me, everyone has horrible thoughts and I’m not alone, and interacting with my OCD will only make things worse—it is futile to try. So, it “wins” in the sense it can shoot out any and all images, thoughts, urges, etc. but I do absolutely nothing in reply to them. I go about my daily routine and I never stop for one second in response to any of them. They do not matter; what matters is my actions and the present moment.
- Date posted
- 3y
Wow! That's inspiring! I don't know how you do that but I think that's really cool, good job. :) I find it so difficult to not respond to my intrusive thoughts. Any one intrusive thought can tend to sit with me all day, and I tend to ruminate on them at different points throughout the day.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Drew777 ERP, patience, and mindfulness kicking in 😉
- Date posted
- 3y
Wow thank you all for such thoughtful replies. I appreciate it so much and am very thankful :) ❤️
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I need advice for intrusive thoughts. I used to feel like I could handle them. They weren’t nearly as bad as the things that related to my actual life. But now, I’m suffering. I haven’t had a sexual experience in over a year that didn’t involve constant intrusive thoughts. Most are somehow related to kids and I keep chasing off the thoughts but it’s so bad. I know you’re supposed to ignore them but I don’t know how I can just ignore that and continue what I’m doing. But they’re coming on stronger. I had one earlier I could not get rid of just as things finished so the thought came on strongly just before my orgasm hit and now I feel absolutely disgusting. I hated the thought and I know it’s not me and it was not enjoyable but it still feels like I was getting off to it. I feel sick. I’m so fucking tired of these thoughts. They’re in my every day life too and it’s all the time. I just want it to stop but ignoring it feels so wrong. What should I do?
- Date posted
- 15w
I've been told a lot that in order to get better, we need to tolerate uncertainty, which yea I get that and I'm trying every day more and more to reach that point!! But I've also been told that we need to tolerate uncertainty AND "our worst fears becoming true". Like how does that work, especially with POCD, OCD about a///ault, SA and all of that? Like that is really difficult for me and I don't really understand how I'm supposed to just shrug stuff like that off
- Relationship OCD
- NOCD Therapy Alumni
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Older adults with OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- POCD
- Real Events OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Date posted
- 13w
so I’ve been seeking therapy for my OCD for a few years. The theme that I’ve been dealing with most recently is the fear of becoming a pedophile, which then has led to intrusive images of me doing things to kids.Which now is just causing me so much distress and 24/7 constant thought cycle. I am starting to not be able to tell the difference between thoughts that are wanted/ unwanted- the line has become some blurry and these things are starting to feel like someothing i want to do. My brain keeps telling me to just test these thoughts and the “maybe”or”i don’t know” isn’t working. This has become such a barrier because the second layer is that I’m afraid that if I just let the thoughts be there it’ll make me be OK with doing those things and the fear is what’s keeping me from actually doing something inappropriate. It’s also transitioned into intrusive thoughts and images of me doing something very disgusting to my dog and that when I’m cuddling with him I get the thoughts to just do it or try it to see if i am actually a p*do. it’s almost like the compulsion would be to do the inappropriate thing, even though I know it’s wrong just to see how it would make me feel. I feel like i can’t control these urges even though i’ve never acted on it. At any point i could just do it. I’ve never had these thoughts before up until about a year and a half ago when my friend‘s boyfriend got arrested for soliciting a minor then all these thoughts came to life.Has anyone experienced something like this and have any advice?
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond