- Date posted
- 2y
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I realized that the more you feed ocd the more it becomes a routine and if you want to break the cycle you have to start slowly stop feeding it.
I realized that the more you feed ocd the more it becomes a routine and if you want to break the cycle you have to start slowly stop feeding it.
Starve it! I like that!
Yes! Compulsions are the food - we starve it by resisting compulsions šš¼
Absolutely true!
itās a hard pill to swallow but youāre right
Yes! I always liked comparing it to resisting an itchy bug bite. The less we itch, the sooner it heals!
This is so true, thank you so much for sharing! That is why ERP therapy is so effective. It works to stop the OCD cycle of obsessions and compulsions.
I like this, starve the monster! You can do it!
Weāll said! This was definitely something I didnāt realize until I started therapy.
Iāve noticed that Iām somewhat happier also ignoring my thoughts than I am instead of doing compulsions (Iām sick and tired of being sick and tired atp) but Iāve heard youāre technically supposed to do erp rather than pushing under the rug. But idk if I have a thought I just refuse to think about it again and im fine even if I want to do compulsions
Looking back, I realize Iāve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasnāt diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldnāt explain: "What if God isnāt real? What happens when we die? How do I know Iām real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didnāt want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. Sheād say, "Maybe youāll kill yourselfāwho knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. Iām working again, Iām sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If youāre scared to try ERP, I get it. But if youāre already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?
I want to beat OCD because I have seen and felt the benefits of clearing my brain from unnecessary, pointless, thoughts. OCD is like 0 calorie food. Itās pointless. No nutrition or benefits come from my obsessions or compulsions. I donāt care to have answers to everything anymore. I catch myself just trying to stress myself out so that I have some worry to feed on. But like I said, itās a 0 calorie food. I get nothing from it but wasted time and energy. My brain feels more spacious when Iām not consumed by OCD. Iām present. My personality has room to be herself without making space for bullshit. I tell myself now that worry is poison. I think Willie Nelson was the person I got that quote from? Anyways, that imagery of worries being poison for the mind has been transformative for me. Iām evolving. š Thanks NOCD community.
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