- Date posted
- 2y
Finding out a more about ocd
Why is ocd considered ego dystonic? I feel like it’s more of my ego preventing me from accepting my thoughts and therefore I have a big ego :/ can someone explain so I can understand better?
Why is ocd considered ego dystonic? I feel like it’s more of my ego preventing me from accepting my thoughts and therefore I have a big ego :/ can someone explain so I can understand better?
Hi! In my understanding, OCD is considered ego dystonic because OCD produces intrusive thoughts that are inconsistent with your true self. The panic that some individuals after having intrusive thoughts stems from the knowledge that the thought is inconsistent with your true values and beliefs. On the contrary, things considered ego syntonic are in line with your ideal self. Hope this helps :)
Good explanation, Annie!
^Love Annie’s explanation! I would highlight that ego dystonic thoughts in OCD bring distress (because, like Annie said, they’re not in line with your values/who you are). Ego syntonic thoughts aren’t distressing to the person having them.
@Killian That’s exactly how I feel with my thoughts, but I feel like over the last couple months my brain has gotten desensitized to these thoughts, does that happen?
i used to panic over the thought, then for a few years, these thoughts didn’t really make me panic, but I really did question. I told myself nah I wouldn’t be a lesbian because I wouldn’t want ppl to judge but it feels like I will try if I dare to. Then my anxiety started coming when someone causally say they think I’m lesbian and I went into a full panic mode for years since then , trying to deny that I am. I can’t help to think that I’m afraid of ppl judging me that’s why I’m panicking, since I didn’t panic last time. But if u were to ask me now, I really do not want to be with girls and I want guys. So I’m super confused. Am I just afraid of others judgement instead of it being ego dystonic?
There’s something that happens that keeps me stuck in a thought, it’s when I can see some part of myself agreeing with or relating to it in some way. That’s when the doubt creeps in. If I can understand *why* the thought is there, doesn’t that mean it’s not just random? Doesn’t that mean it actually reflects something about me? For example **(TMI/TW)**: I had the thought, *“I wonder what other people’s kinks are (including friends, family, even teenagers).”* And then I caught myself thinking, *“Well, I guess that could be interesting information… maybe I wouldn’t even stop someone from sharing it with me. Does that mean I actually want to know? Wait—does that make me perverted or incestuous for even having this curiosity?”* The same thing has happened with other thoughts, like wondering what someone’s privates might look like. I recognize that, on some level, that could be interesting—but does that mean the thought is truly mine? Maybe the answer is super obvious and I just can’t see through my OCD smoke. This was a bit embarrassing for me to write 🥲, but can anyone provide some insight?
Does anyone have any advice for how to know the difference between ocd and real feelings/thoughts? Sometimes an intrusive thought will come in and I immediately know it’s ridiculous and I can just leave it alone and it won’t bother me but other times I really really don’t know. It’s when ocd hijacks and twists my real feelings and thoughts and tries to manipulate me into believing they’re something they’re not or something that doesn’t align with my true morals or intentions. But since it’s twisting and mixing with real feelings I get so confused and scared. Everything gets jumbled and I feel like I can’t trust myself or my own mind. Yet other times and other topics I can laugh off and push away just fine. Make it make sense. And then I start to think well maybe I don’t have ocd at all and I’m just in denial because I don’t want to accept that these scary/concerning things are true about myself. Or maybe that’s just the ocd talking.
I think when people are saying OCD is egodystonic is really triggering me and I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else? I’m going through a really bad relapse and right now I’m trying to figure out if my thoughts are truly egodystonic, like I how do I know I won’t act on them, how can I trust my emotions and everything. I feel really confused and I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore or how I carry on with life because it’s so long and I’m so unsure of everything that’s going on in my head. Like how do I know that this is OCD and true desires/urges. I’m so confused.
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