New here

Hi, I am new here. I am waiting to speak with someone tomorrow but in the meantime..... I ruminate on the same topics over and over. I can have a period of time where I sit with the thought/obsession and work it through in my head, and then an hour later I feel anxiety and it is as though I am back at the beginning with how I am processing or remembering an event. Also, the subject of my rumination changes - its like a shape-shifter. I can be bothered and anxious about something for weeks, then I will move onto another thing. And then that thing is the most important thing ever that I struggle to shift. When I am busy and at work meetings I am fine. When I have down time, the thoughts and anxious feeling come in and I feel like I ned to think them (like it is some truth that I can't ignore). Does this resonate with anyone? Also has anyone looked into Dr Michael Greenburg's Rumination ERP theories? He advocates letting thoughts just be there and not engaging. It seems to help but is not easy to stick with.

Nowweeee

Date posted: 2y ago

Yessss it totally hits home for me. It’s pretty much my sole compulsion. Just remember that the invasive thought is FAST. It’s just a thought. The ruminating is not fast. It takes time. Thoughts we can’t control, compulsions we can control. Ruminating is a compulsion. It’s so hard to realize that you can control ruminating at first but with time you begin to feel your power there. The first step for me was to start mentally noting when I had a thought, then noting when I was ruminating about that thought. That makes it easier later on to realize when you need to stop your compulsion.

JustShe

Date posted: 2y ago

I find the struggle is really acknowledging that the 'thinking' is a compulsion and that I don't have to think the 'thought' through. Normally because I've already thought it through 50 times already!!

Nowweeee

Date posted: 2y ago

And to reference the second half of your post, what I have noticed with ruminating as a compulsion is that you need to be on top of it every day. I have noticed that it’s when I let my guard down, stop recognizing rumination from thoughts, stop doing my ERP that it all comes back. Luckily, it’s really not hard to stay on top of it once you get used to it, it’s also easy to bounce back after you let your guard down. So yeah, it’s not “easy” to stick with but it is necessary and doable. It’s not impossible, the better you get the easier it gets.

Tee10

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

Yeah. For the last year, if I’m not obsessing over something in particular, I go through meta OCD. It’s like a constant loop of anxiety and feelings of doom that don’t really make sense.

kaylaxo

Date posted: 21w ago

Rumination

Advice needed please: Has anybody ever been in a situation where something traumatic or heartbreaking was happening in their life and struggled with rumination? I know there is like a normal amount that you should process something and cry it out but I don’t know that it is conducive to anything to do that on and off for hours? Wouldn’t it at a certain point be considered unhelpful rumination? And if so how does one stop? Because I’m going through something so hurtful and confusing that I don’t know how to stop thinking about it and the usual distractions don’t work for very long. And idk how important this is but it just happened today so it’s very fresh which makes it even harder to not think about and “figure out” why x, y, z happened. Goodness, I’m sorry if I’m weird or a baby

Sosa2loud

Date posted: 12w ago

Kind of Spiraling

Hi guys! I’m new to the community and I’ve recently received my OCD diagnosis (tho I’ve known about it since childhood). I’ve been somewhat spiraling lately as I wait for my first ERP session (hooray!) I was just wondering if any of you guys have received ERP for existential OCD and if it was successful? My existential OCD compulsions are more so mental and have been affecting me in the sense of dream/memory flashbacks and giving me a sort of “uncanny” feeling about everything around me. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you❤️

Mack3133!

Date posted: 10w ago

I’m new to the app, wanting feedback?

I’m new to the app and wanting to know who else experiences this form of ocd. Some background I was a therapist for over 10 years now I am out of the clinical space. So I have background knowledge of ocd but never knew much about relationship ocd. I realized over the last several years with my now fiancé, that I have a hard time just letting go in general, whether that’s an argument or statement or feeling. I want to be able to just accept things at face value and move on (and talk later if my partner is ready as needed). But when conflict arises I can’t disengage till there is a clear resolution. It’s causing serious strife as he can feel trapped and it escalates the argument. I am reading more and this sounds like relationship OCD. Anyone else experience this? Curious on what others have done to work on this for themselves. I do have a therapist but we are not doing work in this area yet as I am realizing this is an actual concern.

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