Anxiety!

@Anon. Like, do you get a thought or your mind thinks about some thing and it feels so real like it’s gonna happen and then sometimes you question yourself. What is this trying to tell me

@Nacio Yes, I have had similar experiences before. The problem is that we only THINK it’s trying to tell us something, when it has no meaning whatsoever, it’s just a thought. The only meaning it has is what we assign it. For me, it’s like my mind try’s so hard to convince me with disturbing thoughts, but they don’t really have any bearing on reality, they are just thoughts. For me, embracing the uncertainty around my fear helps me begin to see them as just thoughts.

@Anon. how about if I obsess about never ever being able to not obsess? My biggest fear is that I’ll never be able to be present in every moment cus I’ll always be thinking about something

@DillonLee I used to feel similar. I literally used to think about not being able to make it through an entire song without being disturbed by intrusive thoughts. The truth is, for me, I was never actually out of a moment. My mind only told me I was. I was living mind, not life. By doing ERP, the intrusive thoughts lost alot of power for me. They still may come, but they usually don’t hold that same power like they did at that time in my life. That came with time and effort working ERP with my therapist and on my own. I hope you can try it for yourself and have a similar experience!

@Anon. or just ruminating whenever I’m taking a walk in the park or something

@DillonLee For me it seemed like it would disturb the seemingly peaceful times, but ERP helped me gain some mental freedom from OCD!

@Anon. what should I do about distressing images that I can’t stop from entering my mind?

@Anon. Man I really appreciate you!! It’s crazy how anxiety works huh

@DillonLee Acknowledge for what they are, just thoughts, and try to embrace the uncertainty surrounding the thoughts. I assume they are about something you’re afraid of, and that’s why they are disturbing. Pause, acknowledge what you’re afraid of, that you can’t be 100% certain it won’t happen, and that you accept that uncertainty and are willing to live with it! Sit with those uncomfortable feelings and don’t give into compulsions! A therapist could really help by making specific ERP exercises for you though

@Nacio Definitely, it can pop up whenever really. But there are tools to deal with it, and to get some mental freedom from it!

@Anon. right now, whenever I’m enjoying myself, my brain says ‘if you hadn’t made this bad decision, you would be enjoying life so much more right now’. This always pains me to think about as it feeds off my enjoyment when I don’t want it to. There’s also a high possibility it’s true. What should I do?

@DillonLee What do you mean