- Date posted
- 5y ago
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Your mental compulsions will strengthen because you are giving up your physical compulsions. Your brain is telling you, "hey, we stopped doing this thing that made me feel safe so now we need to constantly focus on these thoughts so nothing bad happens." This is normal. Dont fight the thoughts. Dont argue with them or analyze them, just let them be there. I know its hard, day after day. Checking every morning to see if they are still there and then living everyday stuck with these unpleasant thoughts that make you feel like a prisoner in your own mind. I can promise you this, it will get better! Accept these thoughts as nothing more then thoughts. Learn about cognitive distortions and understand which ones you are using. Mine was thought-action fusion mainly. Labeling them in this way takes some of its power away. Know you are not alone and that many, many people suffer from OCD. You will get through this by doing the hard work so that you will finally habituate yourself enough that your mind will set you free, a little bit at first but then you will start getting whole days, then weeks and eventually you will feel like yourself again, for the most part. Relapses will occur, that is completely normal but it wont be as bad. You will learn how to overcome this.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Phisch, thank you for the link! It was very helpful!
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Ocd is such a sneaky little bugger!! It will move around and effect us in different ways! It’s the same thing as physical compulsions! The book “ overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts “ is an amazing read for this! In the book it explains how your brain does 2 things you have panic mode and false comfort and they fight back and fourth and keep you locked in a mental compulsion. The same with physical compulsions, do erp and refuse to listen to the anxiety or the comfort! Mentally say to yourself “ this is all well and good but I think I’m going to continue on with xyz” and continue with whatever you were doing before the thought. it’s hard at first but the more you practice it the easier it will be! I think of my mental compulsions in 2 ways if it’s a thought and I’m starting to go deep into the rabbit hole of “could I, would this, what if” then I simply tell myself this is ocd and I’m not going to panic or comfort myself I’m just going to watch the thought come in and go out and not judge it, or I allow the thought completely and invite it in without judgement! Both ways work!!
- Date posted
- 5y ago
You guys gave such great advice! Thank you so much for all your answers!!
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Following this. I ruminate automatically as well and would like to know how to knock it off
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Im at similar place in treatment dealing with similiar issue. Here some good articles about compulsive rumination: https://drmichaeljgreenberg.com/articles/
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Weeping ...what is thought action fusion? Is it the same as magical thinking? Need some help with that
- Date posted
- 5y ago
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Yes! So relatable! Rn I’m trying to purposely think of the thoughts for a period of time to habituate to them but any other tips would be much appreciated
Related posts
- Date posted
- 14w ago
I struggle so bad with intrusive thoughts. They can be so bad that I'll cry because I KNOW that's not how I feel or want to do. (Too embarrassed to say what they're about) I'll constantly try to figure out why I have them, and constantly figure out what they mean, causing me to constantly circle around and around. I had to get on anxeity meds, which helped a little but the thoughts still happen. How do you help yourself with this? How do you know that you're just not some physcopath? 😅
- Date posted
- 11w ago
Two things are happening: I get thoughts that just keep looping. They almost feel like song stuck in my head. Also, I’ll imagine something and I feel my stomach drop. Then as the seconds go by I keep getting fragments of the this thought but with different details. For example, it’s kinda like how a “vision” is portrayed. I’ll get a glimpse of the thought and then it’ll rapidly expand into something worse every few seconds. I don’t know if I’m causing this or if it’s just an automatic thing like any other intrusive thought. It feels unavoidable, idk if this is a compulsion or if it’s just another manifestation of an intrusive thought. Apart from that remembering an intrusive thought triggers the full thought again and then it just keeps looping or expanding. I don’t know how to stop any of this. Help?
- Harm OCD
- Relationship OCD
- OCD newbies
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Older adults with OCD
- POCD
- Date posted
- 11w ago
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
- Older adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- OCD newbies
- Relationship OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- POCD
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond