- Date posted
- 2y
What has been your hardest theme
I know comparing themes is bad but I just want a few opinions
I know comparing themes is bad but I just want a few opinions
Pocd was the longest but honestly real event has been the worst!
I mainly had ROCD and it was debilitating , but can't speak to the others. Its hard to compare different problems for me, experiencing something is way different than reading about it.
@Devu did you overcome ROCD?
Whichever one I have at the time!đ
@Markap I use to switch my themes lol like âwhy donât we worry ab thisâ . I think all of them cause the same worry & anxiety tbh. Thatâs OCD trick. Suicidal OCD was probably my trickiest one that lasted the longest though, bc you would feel depressed so the thoughts would almost feel true lol
Harm ocd towards my kids at the moment, be it that i am the one who hurts them, or other people. That's the theme where, at the moment, i have the most difficulties not to react with compulsions when i obsess and feel very anxious. Other very difficult themes are real event ocd, obsessing over things that happened in the past and if i harmed people. Being very unforgiving towards myself
rocd in my opinion.. but harm ocd & pocd had me very disturbed & depressed ughh, so idkkkk iâll say rocd because my bf is suffering a bit too, with the others i felt like only i was suffering & although i still wasnât ok.. long as others werenât getting hurt
It always seems like the theme you have at the moment is the worst one! Iâve had most of the common themes and some uncommon ones as well and they always seem the worst when they are occurring.
@EmilyCruce Trueđ I have somatic with blinking rn itâs hard
Every theme I have had is difficult in its own way. The feeling for each theme is the same - so one is not easier than another
@Jeffrey True I have somatic with blinking rn and itâs hardđ
@Khensani Iâve had that but I promise it gets better
@Makingocdmybitch How did you get past it
@Khensani You really have to accept having the the thoughts and sensations ! You are not in danger! These thoughts and fixations are not bad they are just there. And the more you accept their presence the less they will bother you and ultimately the less time you will spend fixated on them. It takes time and practice and for me whenever they come back I try to think of it as an exposure and go on with my life. I have had them on vacation and I still made sure it didnât ruin anything my fully accepting them to come and go while focusing on things I value
All themes are hard to those who experience them. With that being said a lot of the taboo themes do bring a lot more of shame,guilt & loneliness.
@Resilient_Mom My taboo theme is the bathroom. I worry about contamination, that I left things clean and perfect.
@Matthew L. I wouldnât say thatâs a taboo theme. Taboo themes would be harm/sexual/pocd etc
@Resilient_Mom I guess I feel itâs taboo because I feel like Iâm the only one who has this, which probably isnât true.
Meta OCD can make ERP hard -- What if I'm not doing the exposure right? What if I don't report my anxiety level correctly?
My hardest themes are perfectionism and contamination. I feel everything needs to be perfect. My contamination deals with the bathroom, which is embarrassing.
I was just thinking about how OCD tries to be tricky and switches themes on us!! The amount of times I have said to myself in the past, IF ONLY I HAD THE OLDER THEME I USE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE THIS NEW ONE IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! Has anyone ever experienced this before? Once I started ERP therapy, I began to really start understanding what mental/physical compulsions I was doing to really keep my OCD alive! While I did this, I would also tap into my self-compassion bucket, even when it felt like it was dry at times, because it was SO easy to judge myself for because of the sheer presence of my thoughts. I would also have the most self-compassion for myself for those taboo intrusive thoughts that really felt so strong, ego-dystonic and real!!! My OCD would hop around from theme to theme and just when I thought I figured it out (compulsion) it would hop again and make me discouraged! I noticed for me that once I really understood my compulsions, it didn't matter when the theme switched as I could tackle it at its core. If I was able to stay steadfast and resist compulsions the best I could, I started to notice that my CONFIDENCE increased in the long run! I also noticed that some of the core fears were the same for different OCD subtypes. OCD treatment is hard BUT living with OCD is harder. I have experienced subtypes including Harm OCD, ROCD, Moral Scrupulosity, Sensorimotor, Contamination, Perfectionism/Just Right, Hit and Run, Magical Thinking, Real Event/False Memory. ERP therapy allowed me to really work on stopping these compulsions and switching from theme to theme. I was fed up with what OCD took from me and I needed to do something about it. I talked to an ERP therapist and it was one of the best decisions of my life. If you are struggling, keep pushing and get the help you deserve!! You got this!!!
"The themes don't matter, it's the OCD that's the real culprit!" I don't buy that. How's that? I didn't have this crap until the real event themes came along. I wasn't born with OCD, I didn't have it from a young age, etc. This was learned, this was real event theme triggered, this was a bad habit that kept on on going and never died, the frequency just picked up and now it's a daily hell. This wasn't happening before the actual themes. Which makes sense. It's a result of being "stuck" in a cycle of guilt, shame, and constant cognitive challenges to "deal" with past deeds. I've very skeptical of any future solution. The fact that there doesn't seem to be any permanent solution for real event OCD is defeating and depressing. I don't know how people "beat OCD" without some level of delusion mindset or baked out of their mind in medication. Doesn't seem to be a holistic or real solution to this. Just more of the same hellish routines. I'm just very pessimistic, it's been years. Where is the hope. Sick of being stuck like this.
Struggling with TOCD has probably been the hardest theme Iâve had to deal with so far For reference. Iâm a gay male 20yr old Before this theme I was so open with my gender expression, love drag and used to do it for a time. A lot of my friends are trans women and my whole life is queer When this theme hit. Itâs like I completely lost who I was. Questioning everything I enjoyed, not participating in anything because it triggered me so heavily. I went through a whole gender journey awhile back and the trans path never spoke to me when I looked into it. I love my physique and my face but now when I look into the mirror i feel like a shell of who I was. I canât find any sort of pure enjoyment without the accompanying âwhat ifâ or âyouâre thisâ intrusive thought I still enjoy how I look. Iâve not looked in the mirror and felt like anything is missing from me or needs to be taken away I just feel like a spectator in my life while this disease tells me Iâm not who I know myself to be I affirm myself every day I know who I am and it may change in the future but thatâs not important. Itâs highly unlikely it will but it may! Giving into the uncertainty has been so hard but itâs worth it! My ocd has really picked up since getting into my first serious relationship I care about my boyfriend with my whole heart but over the course of our relationship my themes have included Health Relationship Irreality Harm I just want to be who I was again before this current theme it feels unbearable to live like this BUT! Iâm seeking appropriate treatment and not giving into a majority of compulsions I just wanted to write this to see if anyone can relate and if they do. Know that you will overcome this! I know I will and you will too
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