I’ve got a lot of bad coping mechanisms. I smoke, drink, isolate and hurt myself to help quiet my mind when it gets overwhelming. Can these count as compulsions? (Also not completely sure if I have OCD)
I am in recovery for addiction as well. Using them as a compulsion to change the way you’re feeling in the moment is the exact reasons addicts and alcoholics drink and use. I highly suggest getting a therapist and ERP, because the road of self prescribing substances to treat mental health issues is a dark path in my experience. There’s totally hope, and I have experienced real freedom from working with a therapist and doing ERP. As far as things I do other than that that may have some small effect of OCD (not at all a substitute for the OCD therapy done); lift weights and exercise, read/listen to spiritual stuff (non-duality, Buddhist stuff), keto diet (l find it helps lower anxiety), regular therapist and OCD therapist, contact with family and friends (ask them how they are doing and have them talk about themselves, you’d be surprised how much it can get you out of your head), Qi Gong daily, being of service to others (volunteering), hobbies such as hiking (nature can be great for perspective), gratitude lists (write 5 things your grateful for daily and send it to someone, do that back and forth), journaling, daily reflection books to start your day (the language of letting go is good). I hope that helps in some way.
@Anon. Ty!
I think so. I do it too and smoke as well.
It gives relief
I just took a course about mental health and we learned that with sh it's important to contact whatever professional support you have (doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, counselor, and so on) to start on a path to recovery. It takes time energy patience and honestly it can be really frustrating if those folks are not familiar with OCD. But getting the ball rolling can be a huge help. What are some of the helpful coping mechanisms and self-care practices that you have?
@Jesse M. I draw, exercise and journal sometimes but I don’t do these as much as I should
@Kaoz I hope you can be nice to yourself when you don't do the helpful things. I'm pretty hard on myself when I stay up late and eat a lot of sugar and whatnot but being kinder helps even when I'm like dang I shouldn't have done that. It's a new day!
Yes, basically anything can become a compulsion IF you’re doing the behavior to lessen the stress, anxiety, thoughts, etc. from OCD.
I've never seen a therapist or been diagnosed, so I went surfing through to find this community. I've seen a lot of OCD symptoms written online. Here is what I experience that I feel may be OCD. If any of you guys agrees, please let me know. I have only ever been able to call my mom by her first name. I have never been able to not do that. She tried to make me call her mom once as a kid but it felt so wrong that I started crying. Everytime I see a wet floor sign, I say "piso mojado" out loud. I have plenty of harsh intrusive thoughts, such as committing acts of violence when I see people not using their turn signals, interrupting performers at a concert. I make myself re-press on my phone alarms 10-12 times each day in the same rythym until it feels fully set to go off. Light switches get flicked off and on, I can't stand not doing it. I have to double-check everything and make myself re-look through the same drawers at work for hours. I love to write, but I never get far because I need approval from others. My head is also always filled to the brim with thoughts which has made writing and things like memory a lot harder. I can't use spoons. I can only use forks for almost everything. I can't stand them. That's all I can think of for right now. Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
I cannot for the life of me stop ruminating or checking how I feel about thoughts or focusing on thoughts or creating more thoughts. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I want to scream. I try not to ruminate about the thoughts, but trying not to just makes me think about them more. I try not to check, but somehow, I still check. I want to let a thought sit in the background, but the more I try not to focus on it, the more I end up focusing on it. I don’t want the thought to expand because that feels like engaging with it, but I can’t just stop it from expanding. It feels impossible. People keep saying I’m in control of my compulsions, and maybe that’s true for the physical ones. But when it comes to the mental compulsions, I swear I have no control. It feels like I’m missing something that everyone else seems to have, like there’s some tool they’re using that I don’t have. Controlling mental compulsions has never felt possible for me. I’m starting to fear them. And every time someone says I’m in control and can just choose not to do them, I end up beating myself up even more when they happen. Or when I *choose* I guess. I don’t know anymore. If this is my fault, if I’m responsible for this, then what does that make me? I feel like a monster. I am at my wits’ end. How am I supposed to control mental compulsions when it feels like they control me? I freak out when they happen. They don’t bring me relief, they just make me panic. I want it to stop so bad.
There are times my harm ocd has me convinced that my feelings of self harm or suicide and harm are real and that any moment I could commit the act on myself or my family. Is there anyone who can chime in on this. I feel like all the time I want to leave run away or avoid my family because of these thoughts. Like I shouldn’t be around my children and I don’t trust myself.
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