Q&A on OCD & Mental Health

@Anonymous Great question! I am experiencing ROCD right now! This is a theme that popped up recently for me, what is bothering you my friend?

@Anonymous I feel your pain my friend. The tough thing about ROCD is that our relationships are so important to us, and any attack on that can feel like the end of the world. But you have answered your own questions. You have similar values, interests and goals so you must trust in that. You will never know 100% whether this is right or wrong, and to be honest there is no right or wrong, it just is what it is. You have to become comfortable with uncertainty or else every relationship you have will have ROCD attached to it. You can’t get rid of anxeity by running away, it will always come back. Work on exploring these thoughts and sitting with them, start small then work your way to your biggest fears… does this help?

@OneDayAtATime Thanks for your time and wisdom!

@Anonymous I feel the same way. At first I was terrified they would leave, but when I got more secure I was scared that I wasn’t anxious anymore, another one of those black and white, no winner situation with OCD!

@donnocd Yes I have had this too! It can be scary, I was arrested in college and this sparked this short theme… but the way I see it is just like any other theme. How will I, right now, ever know if I will go to jail? Its an impossible task! Does OCD expect me to just worry all day long about this till it happens? That would be illogical so I choose to sit with the uncertainty of it all in spite of the negative feelings!

@OneDayAtATime Thank you.. What erp did you do for this theme?

@donnocd I think the best ERP for this is too just sit eith the discomfort. Run scenarios in your head, once u get comfortable with one, move to the other!

@Anonymous Yes I have! Oh this one drove me nuts for a while, false memory can be tough… how can I be of service?

@OneDayAtATime How did you deal with the terrifying memories and being afraid they were real? I just started ERP

@Anonymous Yes it is hard, the thing with OCD that may be comforting is that with all themes it is just as scary. Just because you have POCD doesn’t make you any worst/ better than anyone, these are just thoughts in the end. Try this, say your POCD thoughts were true… what does this change? You are still here, you are still you, breathing, living, existing? Whether a thought is true or not isn’t that important, even though it may seem like life or death, it isn’t. What is important is what you do in spite of those thoughts or fears, instead of ruminating and checking, try something new, I mean anything new, keep trying new things in face of the thoughts and by the time you have done this enough you will see that the only real cure is acceptence that it is uncertain.

@OneDayAtATime This was so helpful- especially to be reminded that I’m not the only one scared out of my mind!! I just keep trying to remind myself that it’s a doubting disorder and I’m giving it what it wants by feeling this way.

@Anonymous It will make you doubt every last thing!

@OneDayAtATime I can’t believe how manipulative it is. It’s insane! Were you ever scared that your worst fear would come true? Like you’d remember something horrible?

@Anonymous Everyday! But once I started ERP the bad times faded away and I was greeted with better and better times in the now! Just takes time!