Why does OCD feel so real and intense?

Because it gives the same emotions as if there is a real and direct threat. The brain likes to give you something to problem solve. When you get a good thought chances are you not doing anything for that and the brain won't give you this thought again. But if there are some trash thoughts or thoughts that feels disturbing you act on it and the brain will give you more of these thoughts because you like to problem solve it. If you go by your day and let the anxiety be there it will ease after a while because your brain will record this as a thought that is not worth problem solving and will discard this more in the future. This how you recover from OCD.

If it didn’t we wouldn’t have OCD. It’s just the way the OCD brain work. Nathan Peterson has really good videos about this on YouTube!

OCD targets the area of our brain that is designed to warn us of danger - unfortunately ours is broken so that is why an intrusive thought "feels" real. The same area of the brain that tells us to run when we see a lion coming at us is the same area that processes intrusive thoughts. So, for a person with OCD - it appears that there is something that we must figure out in order to feel safe again - when in reality it is a false alarm. Our brains are telling us there is danger where there is no danger at that moment. That is why ERP therapy works so well - because when doing ERP we are basically retraining our brains to react differently to the intrusive thoughts. I hope this helps.

I believe it’s because your mind picks up the thoughts as a threat, it all feels so real because your brain is trying to get you to act and make yourself safe

Because it wouldn't be a disorder if it didn't feel real

It FEELS so real because of the FEELINGS associated with the thought. Those strong floods of fear, guilt, shame, disgust, etc is what causes us to want to put so much importance on the intrusive thoughts! It attacks our values! People we love! It even attacks us! Of course it FEELS real. It is really happening to us! Practice self compassion and resist, resist, resist those compulsions, being mindful that it is OCD and OCD does not make the thoughts real or come to fruition. Y'all hang in and keep choosing ERP!

I’d love to know this too. I think it’s because it’s illogic. Brains are logical but ocd is illogical. And because our ocd brains like to find ‘proof’ too. It makes it harder to disbelieve

We believe our thoughts are truth, they are not! But they do FEEL real,that’s why we have to meet intrusive thoughts with uncertainty