SL1K
- Date posted
- 2y
i don’t know if the stuff i feel guilty for is ocd
idk if it’s ocd making me feel guilty or if it’s actual guilt i should pay attention to. and it’s killing me.
divyDdivyD
- Date posted
- 2y
Guilt is meaningless other than an expression of care. Bc we care about the person, or if something bad happens, or if we have done something wrong. I can say it is a symptom of ocd… my ocd makes me think my child has a serious condition and when I’m not with him, I feel guilty like I need to absolutely be with him bc in my mind he could get very sick and needs me there at all times. How can I leave my potentially very sick child without his mum…. Doesn’t this sound utterly irrational? I allow the guilt to be there and keep pushing on with the task I’m doing. It feels horrible but we have to keep doing what we do despite the feelings we get. It might benefit you to write out your guilt as a worry story. Write it out like a story or diary and see it through right to the very end of the worst case scenario that might happen. This is distressing to do but is an excellent form of erp in my own experience. It helps you to sit with the uncertainty and keeps you busy enough to avoid do any compulsions. Keep doing this over and over until your distress levels go down.
divyDdivyD
- Date posted
- 2y
@divyD This isn’t to say that guilt isn’t a totally normal emotion. Everyone experiences it and some people can let it pass while others it sticks. But you know your ocd theme and how it plays out, and ocd is all about uncertainty and doubt, so I think you need to let the feelings of guilt be. Take deep breaths and know that by allowing the feeling to be that your body’s natural calming mechanism will help it pass
TonyyTonyy
- Date posted
- 2y
@divyD Is there a time frame until you see progress? I know it takes time but how long? Or does it vary from person to person?
divyDdivyD
- Date posted
- 2y
I think it varies plus it’s how often u do it and the scale of distress u r exposed to. For me, I started in the deep end. The first time, I triggered myself first by googling this health condition i obsess about for my son. Not recommend to do that btw lol. But my heart was pounding out of my chest! My distress was a 9/10. I wrote for about 15 minutes to the end of a possible worst case scenario and I cried a lot. A lot! My distress went down to only 8. Following this, on diff days, the distress levels started and ended at a slightly lower level. You can start off slow by just writing a word or sentence that triggers you but at a much lower level where you feel you can manage. But I would suggest maybe doing something that triggers you at such high levels with your therapist. And you need privacy and time to do so fully. And give yourself time afterward to cry or scream or wtv but NOT do your compulsions. It is hard because i immediately wanted to get reassurance and comfort after doing my story. Hence why I suggest doing it with a therapist.
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bkelp213
- Date posted
- 23w
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Tony Davies
- Date posted
- 23w
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Conquering_OCD
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 22w
Knowing the difference
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.
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