- Date posted
- 5y ago
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Yeah I've done the same and it went on for 3 years, unsure how bad it was, but at the time I could see it as, not my best moment but no big deal. I'd come up with a solution only to find a "what if" after a while. There'll always be, what ifs. The only solution I've found is to let the fears worries be there and not to answer them but take the anxiety. Checking the memory will keep you locked into ocd. With time, the fears will fade, once you stop giving in and checking.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Yeah my compulsions(ruminating) caused my false memory ocd. Once I stopped trying to prove the thoughts were wrong, just let them lie, despite the anxiety, they start to lose their power. Takes practice and time, and don't give in to checking memories on the subject or you just end up back on the hamster wheel.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I don't struggle as much with false memory (just occasionally). In my case I do know that it happened (Even though it was 20 years ago) but i feel the urge to check what that makes me, to see how bad it was, to justify and sooth, to compare with other people, to self-punish, to confess and to try to imagine what people would think of me.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
My OCD started with that and then it shifted to false memory OCD which hit hard because I was already anxious.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Eventually I accepted I'm imperfect and people make mistakes. But don't say it to seek reassurance. Cause my compulsions actually caused my false memory OCD.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Good to know I am not the only one. What exposures did you do for the real events?
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I struggle with this as well, and I think it has started to lead to some false memories, too. It's like I start to question sometimes which memories are true. I think Garrett has good advice. Not always easy to follow, but I have to stop reliving these memories. My OCD tells me that maybe this time I'll remember some little detail that will somehow make things ok. But that never happens, and I suspect that even if it did, I would question whether that was a real part of the memory, or a false memory that I made up as a part of my compulsion to try to soothe my anxiety.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
My false memory OCD convinced me I somehow killed someone without knowing. As you can imagine, that almost drove me to insanity.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I even called the police because I felt I needed to confess. But there was nothing to confess. False memory OCD is one of the worst.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I hear you
Related posts
- Date posted
- 13w ago
So, I know my capacity to get fixated on things. And it's normally something that's relatively remote but, my latest issue is really getting to me and I was wondering if people have any advice. I'm avoiding getting too into specifics, as I don't want this to get reassurance-y but, in essence.. I came to the realisation recently that people who I'd been "friends" (feels like the wrong term now) when I was younger were not very nice people, and normalized a lot of very unpleasant behaviour towards other members of the group. They really normalized it, sold themselves as figures of authority, as older and more responsible and grown-up than others, and looking back, they acted horribly. And coming to this realisation, that I'd been manipulated into just accepting their behaviour has just... broken me. My OCD has latched onto it and I can't stop feeling irreversibly tainted by it. I've talked to others about it, and they've reassured me, told me it's not a big deal and that I hold myself to too high a standard, but none of that sticks. I feel better for a bit, then think 'Maybe when you told them you were skewing it to make yourself look better' or 'Did you leave out a crucial detail'. I keep ruminating over and over, trying to remember exactly how everything played out, trying to figure out if I fed into the behaviour, if I did something bad myself (because y'know, I feel like I was accepting of it at the time, so what does it say about my own values?). I know I need to stop doing all this if I want to improve, but then some part of me keeps saying 'So, you're just going to let yourself off the hook then?' Normally, I can rationalize my own fears to some degree, assure myself something won't happen, but the realness of the situation, and the fact I only came to understand the reality of it because the thought had been bothering me means it feels so much more all-encompassing. I know confessing in itself is a compulsion, but I keep feeling that if I'm not I'm somehow concealing what I 'really am' from others around me, and any positive interactions are me deceiving them in some way. I feel like I can't enjoy anything in life right now, and a good part of me feels I should not enjoy it ever again. If anybody has any advice on it, I'm all ears. Or even hearing if you relate to these feelings, I might appreciate the solidarity at least.
- Date posted
- 12w ago
New to this app. Do members find it helps, I'm worried I will start obsessing over things I hadn't thought about before when I read other people's OCD triggers...
- Date posted
- 11w ago
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❤️
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond