- Username
- FernandoV
- 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.
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.
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.
My OCD started with that and then it shifted to false memory OCD which hit hard because I was already anxious.
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.
Good to know I am not the only one. What exposures did you do for the real events?
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.
My false memory OCD convinced me I somehow killed someone without knowing. As you can imagine, that almost drove me to insanity.
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.
I hear you
Question, does anyone else experience real life event ocd? Like they have a lot of guilt about events that happened in the past and can’t seem to move on from it. It is related to my suicide ocd and I wish I could just move on from the past but I have so much guilt for it even though everyone is telling me to move on! I read that this could be considered real life event ocd but am just wondering if anyone else feels the same.
I've had multiple themes including HOCD, POCD, etc. But the worst and most debilitating one for me has been Real Event OCD..the immense guilt, and the extra doubt that comes with it, especially because with this theme it's based on something that actually ocurred..
‘Real event’ OCD? I don’t see much about this anywhere and was wondering if anyone else suffers with this? When I was younger I had contamination ocd and health anxiety. Now I’m 23 and obsess over something that actually happened. It’s killing me.
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