Confessing Thoughts?
Should I tell people my thoughts? My logic is that if they were just normal thoughts then I shouldn’t have any fears about telling people, and then it takes the power away from the thoughts. But I have also read that confession is a compulsion. What should I do?
Confession is a compulsion, but it can at times be helpful. It depends on why you want to confess in the moment. If it is out of anxiety, it's probably a compulsion.
@CS7THE For me it isn’t like “I need to tell them this thought”, it’s more like I need to tell them I’m thinking this thought and how it’s making me feel, like I know it’s irrational
@floatingspirit It's not irrational, if you need to vent about something then do so with the right person,
People without OCD also get intrusive thoughts, but much less frequently. My question would be: Do they go around confessing these thoughts? In my personal experience, no. I would reframe this maybe- if you want to talk about these thoughts generally with a therapist or a trusted person, then this could be a very good thing to do for yourself. But remember- you have OCD and can’t help these thoughts like the rest of us. So think about it as talking about the thoughts rather than confessing them at a time you decide comfortable doing so. This will help to decrease the often harmful feelings of guilt and urgency which lead to compulsive behaviour .
@Anonymous Yes this is correct! My idea is to talk about them rather than confess them! Is this right?
@floatingspirit I am not an expert, but it is unsustainable to confess every thought that comes into your head that is problematic. I think the best thing to do would be to talk them over with a therapist. And only if you really think it would help, to talk about them to someone you trust. OCD intrusive thoughts are not crimes, unfortunately they are just a reality that we often can’t control.
You have to look at the purpose behind your sharing- do you genuinely want to have a conversation with that person about your thought or are you doing it out of a sense of urgency or anxiety- like if I tell them this thought I will feel better- or they can reassure me that they get these thoughts too. If its a sense of anxiety/discomfort than its likely a compulsion and I would not do this. Have you done any ERP yet? It can be helpful to work with a well-trained therapist to help sort out these compulsions as they can be very sneaky. Best wishes.
Nope.
How can I get over the feeling of needing to confess everything? Even private thoughts & situations … nobody’s business but my own. But I feel like I’m doing something wrong and keeping big secrets. Thanks!
I have a constant need to confess past sexual fantasies to my boyfriend. the problem is I can’t figure out which ones were real and which ones were sexually intrusive thoughts (which i deal a lot with). When it comes down to it, I don’t know if this is a compulsion to confess or if I owe it to him bc it’s a form of cheating. I feel disgusted with my past thoughts/sexual fantasies. They are constantly playing in my head and I’m always wondering what my real intentions were during them. Is this something I am obligated to confess to him? these happened almost 2 years ago and some even longer. I just feel like if i confess one, I’ll just fixate on another and need to confess that too. I feel like a disloyal partner for having those thoughts and i don’t know how to deal with that.
i have recently had really bad confession ocd. i have an amazing happy healthy relationship, and i’m slowly destroying it. now, it’s come as far as me confessing thoughts that i probably shouldn’t be having to him. i feel so much guilt and anxiety if i don’t tell him, but telling him is just ruining our relationship and hurting him. i don’t mean these thoughts, i love him and want only him. i also confess at least 5+ times a day. I struggle with not even knowing if some things im confessing that i’ve done in the past are real or fake. it’s like i don’t know if what i did was real or not. im trying my best to stop confessing, but it’s hard because how am i supposed to know if it’s something he really needs to know or not? i don’t wanna lose him by telling him stupid stuff i should have kept to myself. he’s my dream person. it’s hard to act normal around him when i’m having the urge to confess. that leads me to not hold it in when he asks if i’m okay, because then if i say yes i’m lying so then i have to confess. we are very open about things, but it just has gone too far on my end. if anyone has any tips on how to overcome this please share.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
