- 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.
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.
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.
@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
@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?
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.
i’m not sure (genuinely) if it’s a situation that needs to be addressed or if it’s ocd
I honestly can’t tell when thoughts are being affected by OCD. Sometimes I think I have what I think are normal “grey” thoughts, but then OCD adds so much weight to them and I spiral. I had this thought that I wished my boyfriend was more confident or independent. I felt so guilty for thinking it. I told him, and of course it hurt him. He told me it’s a normal thought to have, I just dwell on it too much. And that it’s the kind of thought most people keep to themselves. That’s the thing. I don’t know what’s okay to keep to myself and what isn’t. I think sometimes I say things out loud not just to relieve anxiety, but because I genuinely don’t know what’s okay to think or say. I do not know the line between a normal grey thought and something that’s “bad” to think. I don’t know how to tell if it’s something I should process privately or something I need to be ashamed of. I get this confusion with intrusive thoughts too, but those are easier to spot and evaluate. This is harder, because again, it is *my* thought. That makes it harder to sit with. Maybe the intrusive part is the voice that questions what kind of person I am for even thinking it. I don’t have the same telltale signs anymore. My physical anxiety isn’t there anymore, it’s all in my head and that makes it so much more confusing. But I don’t know. The line between honesty vs compulsion is so blurry. I just feel lost
I can’t help but feel so anxious because of guilt. I feel guilty about not sharing everything about my OCD to my partner, but because I understand that confession itself is a compulsion and would not help anyone. I feel so anxious too that if all my fears come true and she finds out, then it would be so devastating for everyone especially her. Does anyone feel the same thing? How could I change my perspective on this?
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