So the key about dealing with OCD's constant fears and "what ifs" is to basically not care since the reason it sticks is because you care... A LOT. So... how do I not care? It's really hard? Do I pretend I'm not bothered? Because that kind of feel like repression. I know you need to feel the anxiety but alsl if you didn't care about the thoughts/feelings you basically wouldnt have OCD. (No reassurance please, thank you!)
I was listening to a podcast today about forgiving yourself for past mistakes and one of the things they said is people often have unreasonable expectations that forgiving themselves and moving on means that they shouldn’t have the uncomfortable and negative feelings associated with the event they are “upset” about. Now putting that in relation to our thoughts. They are naturally upsetting thoughts, so I think it is unreasonable to expect yourself to ever fully feel comfortable with accepting the thoughts. So, that being said, I think sitting with the negative feeling and thoughts that arise is key. Accepting that you have these emotions is key. Because you cannot control your thoughts and feelings as much as you try. What you can control is your reaction to the thoughts and the actions you take as a result of those negative emotions. (For example the compulsions)
Well, with ERP, the goal is to get triggered and provoke whatever OCD fear you are targeting. Then, you sit with the uncomfortable feelings without compulsions. In my experience, over time, the fears tend to be less anxiety producing and you tend to naturally not care very much anymore. For me, I’m not sure I could just all of a sudden “stop caring” without learning ERP and the tools to deal OCD. It took consistency in therapy and ERP to start to get some more mental relief from OCD. I hope that helped in some small way!
I try to pretend I’m not bothered but I’m not very good at it . I’m sure I’d someone was good at it they’d be able to lessen the thoughts
There are times when I meet the OCD thoughts with a ‘yeah, whatever’. In doing so I’m acknowledging them, and not going into the rabbit hole trying to figure it out. It’s my way of accepting the uncertainty. BTW I also use this when trying to get to sleep. I think there’s no better time to sit/lay down with the thoughts & discomfort than when you’re trying to fall asleep.
I think it's best to completely go into the fear
... Oddly enough that kinda makes sense, thanks
Even if it sounds ridiculous
Part of my OCD is always trying to get into the bottom of things (if I freak out thinking about death or illness or losing someone or contamination, then I will roam all the internet for searching for informations on the subject even though it worsens my anxiety and never leaves me with a "clean" feeling of certainty or peace or acceptance). And recently I realized that if I have an anxious thought that arises in my mind it'll just go away if I leave it be and don't stop what I'm doing. But stupidly enough I feel guilty for doing that because I get the feeling that I should engage more with my fears and if I just ignores them and they go away I'm worsening the situation ... What is the line between ignoring the problem by distracting yourself and simply allowing your mind to move on ?
Hello! Now I'm trying to let all these thoughts come to my head and accept the anxiety that's coming with them without challenging them - just leaving then unanswered. But my head keeps telling me things like, 'but maybe that actually was a bad thing you did, and you're just trying to push it away' or 'you might still go to hell, because this might not be OCD but you just being a bad person and trying to ignore it.' I can recognize all these as OCD thoughts but they undermine my coping strategies. Does this stuff get better with time and practice?
I'm getting over my health ocd once and for all but it's getting replaced by an extrem fear of developing new Obsessions. What are ways to deal with the fear of new Obsessions and compulsions?
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