It goes from one theme to the next and it's a cycle I cycle between three different ones. POCD is a big one, Health OCD and Existential OCD. Some fuel the others and whenever I get really anxious I get really negative thoughts that seem to feed Harm OCD. Does this sound familiar to anyone.
Definitely! My themes will switch frequently, and current life events will often factor in to which theme is most predominant (sometimes multiple at the same time). For me, I think it really just is what theme is most anxiety provoking at the time. However, I have found that when I do ERP heavily in one theme, and then it switches because that theme is no longer anxiety producing, I still have all the skills and experience to work through the new theme (as annoying as that is at times). It’s just a matter of willing I am to get uncomfortable and do the work. I highly suggest getting a therapist and trying ERP if you have the opportunity to. It really helped me get more mental freedom from OCD than I previously had. I hope this helps in some small way!
It does. I think the worst thing is the "what's the point of if have to deal with this the rest of my life" thought. I am usually and positive person and see the best in life so this really sucks to have as a intrusive thought
@MisterNegative I can totally relate to this! I am an alcoholic, and treat it by doing AA. One of the steps is to "admitted that I am an alcoholic and my life has become unmanageable." Once I accepted this and that it was a life long diagnosis, and worked the steps (the solution), I got some relief. I no longer obsess over drugs and alcohol. In the beginning, I tried to translate some of the stuff I learned in AA/recovery to OCD. "I have OCD, and my life has become unmanageable." Accepting that, then applying the solutions learned in therapy (ERP). I've found some relief. I hear people on here talk about living without any OCD relapses for extended periods of time. What a goal to have, and if it's possible for them, it sounds plausible for most people that are willing to put in the effort in therapy/ERP. Sometimes, I find myself getting content with having moderate OCD. That's not where I want to be though, it's just a matter of being willing to implement the things I learned in ERP.
@Anon. That makes sense ☺️. So you say that I have OCD and I need help and not think that you have the things OCD makes you think you have. The problem isnt the content but the OCD and how you react to it
@MisterNegative Totally, my therapist always told me OCD can be disguised in different clothing, but it just really comes down to fear of some uncertainty. Accepting you have OCD and need help, in my opinion, is the first step in recovery (just like for recovery in other things). Help really came for me in therapy/ERP.
Anyone else feel that when they aren’t experiencing a theme that their ocd is almost non existent. It almost makes me feel like I’ve been faking it, and also makes me feel ridiculous for obsessing over things. I feel sorry for myself :/ I know that my themes are valid and felt very real in the moment, but after I “get over” them I just can’t believe that I was obsessing over something that either wasn’t true or didn’t apply to me. I would also like to know how to prevent themes from reoccurring. Health, religion and existential OCD themes tend to take turns throughout my life, I just didn’t know that was it ocd. Trying to break the cycle.
I was just thinking about how OCD tries to be tricky and switches themes on us!! The amount of times I have said to myself in the past, IF ONLY I HAD THE OLDER THEME I USE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE THIS NEW ONE IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! Has anyone ever experienced this before? Once I started ERP therapy, I began to really start understanding what mental/physical compulsions I was doing to really keep my OCD alive! While I did this, I would also tap into my self-compassion bucket, even when it felt like it was dry at times, because it was SO easy to judge myself for because of the sheer presence of my thoughts. I would also have the most self-compassion for myself for those taboo intrusive thoughts that really felt so strong, ego-dystonic and real!!! My OCD would hop around from theme to theme and just when I thought I figured it out (compulsion) it would hop again and make me discouraged! I noticed for me that once I really understood my compulsions, it didn't matter when the theme switched as I could tackle it at its core. If I was able to stay steadfast and resist compulsions the best I could, I started to notice that my CONFIDENCE increased in the long run! I also noticed that some of the core fears were the same for different OCD subtypes. OCD treatment is hard BUT living with OCD is harder. I have experienced subtypes including Harm OCD, ROCD, Moral Scrupulosity, Sensorimotor, Contamination, Perfectionism/Just Right, Hit and Run, Magical Thinking, Real Event/False Memory. ERP therapy allowed me to really work on stopping these compulsions and switching from theme to theme. I was fed up with what OCD took from me and I needed to do something about it. I talked to an ERP therapist and it was one of the best decisions of my life. If you are struggling, keep pushing and get the help you deserve!! You got this!!!
To the people who are in therapy and on their recovery journey when the ocd is tending to die down a bit is it normal for the ocd to keep switching themes until it fully dissipates? Has anyone experienced this?
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