Advice

It was useful for me to try to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Sit with intrusive thoughts and they will eventually change. I reviewed the reassurance seeking vs information seeking page if I thought I may be seeking reassurance. Also I found it helpful to acknowledge that the intrusive thoughts are from OCD and not a reflection of your character. Sometimes I tell myself "I don't have to figure it out right now".

ERP is great for dealing with intrusive thoughts. When faced with them, inject uncertainty. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. Stay in a state of not knowing and be ok with it not knowing. Soon you’ll have intrusive thoughts and not feel a need to “figure them out” 🫶

I’ve been doing that and then putting the thought in box? I’m worried I’m not doing it right

I really like this article about what to do with intrusive thoughts. I think it can be easy to get caught up in the obsessive roller-coaster of whether I am doing treatment correctly, or am I "right". There can be different ways that ERP teaches to handle intrusive and unwanted thoughts. The main thing is that you do not respond to them with compulsions, that you allow yourself to sit in the discomfort and uncertainty, the anxious feelings, and see that you can tolerate this.https://www.sheppardpratt.org/news-views/story/how-to-respond-to-unwanted-obsessive-thoughts/