Does anyone else feel like there intrusive thoughts go away when the are deeply involved in some sort of work? Then when I come out of it, my mind goes straight back to my rocd. It makes me feel like it’s not actually rocd.
Hi Jigjon, I’ve noticed that sometimes when I’ve been busy with work or life events, I don’t notice my OCD themes as much. And sometimes stress/busyness with work can exacerbate my anxiety + ocd. Just because you don’t always notice it/it’s not as loud doesn’t mean it’s not OCD. OCD is a rollercoaster, there are times of high prevalence and times where things aren’t as noticeable. It’s the doubt disorder, so it’s going to make you doubt things, even doubting that what you’re experiencing is OCD! My best advice to you is to accept the uncertainty; maybe it is ocd, maybe it’s not. You may never have a concrete answer. But worrying, ruminating, over thinking won’t get you any closer to an answer. If you’re not in therapy, I definitely recommend giving NOCD a call for their free consultation!
Often the best way to deal with Intrusive thoughts is to accept the uncomfortable thoughts/feelings and not engage with the OCD. Since that is so hard to do, sometimes redirecting can help. It sounds like what you are describing is a form of redirecting. Perhaps you just need to add in a step prior to redirecting, where you let the thought come up and sit with it for a moment prior to redirecting by focusing on work, etc. I am in ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) therapy for my OCD. It's helped me to deal with thoughts in a clearer way.
Yeap!
of course, I think it's kind of a coping mechanism
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