Ocd tends to creep up on me when I’m having a good time or when I’m at a party, ocd turns everything negative around me. What are some tips that can support me from feeling negatively while I’m having a good time.
Hey, just try to let the thoughts just be there and do whatever they want. Don’t put pressure on yourself to have a “good” time. Whatever happens happens. If you worry about not having a good time then the thoughts will keep appearing. I know it’s hard but try to not focus too much on if you are having a good time. You can even mock OCD and say “Hey OCD, I’m having a good time. Where are you? Not here yet?”. You’ll be turning the tables on OCD
I think it helps me to remember that thoughts are just thoughts. I think we get more worried about our OCD when we’re around others and we worry of what could happen while we’re in the presence of other people. I’ve learned to accept that I have no control over how things might go for me in the presence of others. I often use to worry of going to parties and having panic attacks and that no one would be able to help me, or the what ifs of if I got sick and no one knew what to do. I have had to learn to just be accepting that if these worst chaos scenarios do even happen, I can’t control the outcome and I can’t control the responses of others, so I do my best through the night and if I feel some anxiety coming on, I will sometimes just excuse myself to another room for a little air or water and then go back to the party.
Thanks for sharing what you are going through. I think it’s great that you are so aware of your OCD triggers. As the worries and intrusive thoughts pop up when you are out, trying to just push them away will likely just intensify them. Instead Allow yourself to acknowledge the thought but not engage with or try to analyze it. Then try to redirect by focusing on the conversation or interaction you are having. I absolutely know this is easier said than done be patient with yourself. Do the best you can.
This can feel so hard, I think what I always remind myself of is that I need to keep living my life towards my values. Even if I feel the OCD creep up- keep going-keep doing what you would do if you didn't have OCD. You got this.
If you’re at a party with people, I found it helpful to get out of my head and be interested in other peoples lives and what you can do to make their lives easier. Also I don’t drink anymore because I noticed that symptoms are worse if I do!
Sometime I just smile at the thought. I might not feel like smiling but I just acknowledge the thought is there and get back to being present. Focusing out is the best tool but can be difficult when OCD is yelling
Any tips on how to deal with the rollercoaster of good and bad days with OCD? I had such a good day yesterday with tackling my compulsions and rumination. I tend to get up in the mornings and my OCD loves to start immediately. It becomes frustrating when you feel like you made progress, only to go right back to where you were. Any positive encouragement of how you’ve dealt with this would be appreciated!
I need tips on how to really accept the uncertainty the ocd causes, even if it feels so bad like I might get in trouble for something , do I wanna be okay with that?
I’ve been stuck in this cycle for the last month or two and am not sure how to get out of it. Basically, I will work on ignoring the thoughts and not responding or engaging plus limiting/completely eliminating compulsions. After a week or two of constant work, the amount of intrusive thoughts in a day goes down. The anxiety each thought causes also goes down with some, but not all, thoughts passing without notice like they would for a normal person. The thoughts that do stick cause anxiety and make me want to ruminate or do other compulsions but I make sure to limit them. After a bit, I’m in a pretty good head space. This is usually when it goes down hill. I’ll start to question if I even have ocd because some of the thoughts (once again not all) pass without notice. The difficulty resisting compulsions goes down and so does the anxiety, only increasing the questioning. I spend a while questioning if I’ve ever had ocd in the first place and then something sets me off or the questioning itself becomes a trigger and I get stuck back into the same ocd cycle with constant rumination, anxiety, and other compulsions. This lasts for a week or two before I know I need to stop and try and work hard to get back to ignoring the thoughts. And the cycle just restarts over and over again. Does anyone have any tips to stop this from happening? It’s really harming my recovery as every few weeks I dive back into the same negative place I was.
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