Struggling with intrusive thoughts about infidelity and seeking advice.

I think the first thing you should do is forgive yourself for acting in response to a scary dream. 8( You caught yourself doing the compulsion, and you should be proud of that! The best thing you can probably do from here on is try to keep resisting-- by relaxing & trusting yourself more.

I am sorry that your ocd is acting out. I will say this - confessing is a compulsion and will make ocd stronger. OCD wants you to believe that you need to confess to feel better - and that is a lie. Having thoughts does not make anyone a bad person. Everyone has intrusive thoughts- those of us with OCD give these thoughts way too much meaning - through no fault of our own. We cannot control these thoughts - the only thing we are able to control is our response. That os where ERP is so helpful. ERP teaches us to sit with uncertainty- to accept uncertainty. Here is the thing - ocd wants something we can never have - certainty. Perhaps when the intrusive thought comes in you address it with maybe I did this and maybe I didn’t. Remind yourself that you are going to live by your values and not your fears. And you know what your values are - so when you have intrusive thoughts - Assume it is ocd and move On. The ick you feel may not go away but in time you learn that you can live with the thoughts without compulsing - most of the time. Most importantly - be kind to yourself - have compassion for yourself. Ocd is not easy to live with - And we all compile from time to time - and that it is okay. When we catch it - we stop. But we cannot do this perfectly every time.

Hey, I've also been struggling with intrusive thoughts. It is really, really distressing and disturbing. It is understandable that you feel guilt over these thoughts and want to be honest with your girlfriend. One of the things which I've come across is to label these thoughts as exactly what they are...they are Intrusive. They are irrational and false. They are not reality. The more emphasis we put onto worrying about these thoughts, the more momentum we give them and the more likely they are to reoccur. But if we resist the urge to engage or respond to them, they will automatically have less power over us. In time with practice they may just become mere frivolous thoughts and will not cause us as much, if any anxiety. Hope this helps 🙏🏻

Hi there! I literally woke up in a sweat and in tears from an intrusive dream, similar to yours. I know exactly how you’re feeling. You feel upset, anxious, guilty, ashamed, isolated and even angry (at least I do). Not sure if you are Christian, but what helps (sometimes) me is leaving it to God. It’s pretty much the same as not giving the thoughts/dreams the attention they seek. You acknowledge they’re there and do nothing beyond that… even if it means stopping yourself from confessing. I KNOW it’s hard. Trust me, I cried for 2 hours straight because of it. You leave the thoughts there because there’s no real threat present. >>IF<< they turn into a real threat, then you’ll go from there. Does that make any sense? I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. I understand your pain. I wish I could make this horrendous condition go away for all of us. Many blessings!

This happened to me last week two nights in a row. I felt like I HAD to confess to my bf- he didn’t care. He knew they were anxiety /ocd dreams❤️