Avoidance

The hard answer to that is that you've got to let yourself be uncomfortable. That's hard to do without the right steps to remain distant or not engaging with the thought - rumination is also a compulsion so it gets hard to identify. But uncertainty is what the real fear is of, and accepting it is what helps. I would recommend researching more in-depth advice from the articles and things found here on this app when you're able to do so without urgency

Avoidance is a compulsion usually, so it may make things seem better but only for a short time, and then the anxieties increase. Letting uncomfortable feelings and thoughts remain and not engaging with them is important with being able to be less overwhelmed by the thoughts that might come up. Intrusive thoughts happen to everyone, whether or not they have OCD; OCD causes an obsession over them that creates warped proportions and senses of importance to whatever you're thinking of. It does go away, but not on its own exactly - it takes allowing discomfort to be there without looking for an answer or seeking reassurance, and answer an intrusive "what if" with a "maybe, maybe not" - for example, "maybe I'm tricking everyone around me some how, and maybe I'm not. I'll keep going on without engaging with the thought ". Allowing uncertainty is the important part. There are plenty of subtypes that I could never imagine being overwhelming, and yet others that consume me - and that tells me that I'm experiencing a specific obsession on something that I'm struggling to accept uncertainty with. For example, if I'm not afraid of being sick when I go outside, why am I afraid of hurting someone? Both would be bad, but one I can be uncertain on. And yet people experience the opposite - they have no fears or uncertainties on causing harm, but are terrified of contamination. The short if it is that it takes some work to feel better, and the "cure" isn't the thoughts going away - it's not having the urge for an answer, or a sense of anxiety/panic that makes it impossible to stop thinking about. Everyone gets intrusive thoughts - including the ones you struggle with, I've had them too - but they're passing, or don't introduce the same sense of urgency. If doing an action to relieve anxiety feels like it's coming from an urgent place, it's likely a compulsion and it's best to resist it. I recommend as best you can to get a therapist or find more doctor approved information, as this is difficult to do on your own the with the way uncertainty arises, but it's not impossible

i’m in a super similar position rn, back on this app after a little while because i need some support. it’s my birthday today and whenever good things come it’s hard to enjoy them because i feel like i don’t deserve them. all i can say is the most important thing i’ve realized is that the problem is not what ocd tries to make us test or believe, that distracts from the real problem. for people with pure ocd the real problem is feeling inherently bad for no solid reason, it’s a self esteem/distorted self image issue, not an issue of us actually being bad. i’m sorry you’re going through this right now and i’m sending well wishes. be a good friend to yourself. make it your mission to try to enjoy your day tomorrow despite the ocd, resist the sense of urgency to give into compulsions as much as you can. i hope you have a happy birthday :)

I FELT THAT. Rn it’s like dealing with the idea that you’re gonna get worse overtime.. rn I’m just not even paying attention to the thoughts and I’m distracting myself because I know once I’m not anxious I don’t feel that way