recovery and ‘alarm bells’

I know myself inside out, including all the tricks ALL 6 of my mental illnesses like to try and pull on me, so I know what is a legit concern and what isn’t—that’s a big part of recovery. It’s also learning about yourself. I still have intrusive thoughts, urges and images—that will NEVER go away. Every human being has intrusive thoughts, images, and urges throughout their lifetime, but they don’t react they don’t care, and they don’t fight or judge them in any sort of way. That is like recovery, though I do pay a little more attention to what’s going on in my head WHILE practicing mindfulness just because I have to be on my toes. I have many mental illnesses that could go haywire if I let them. But I don’t because I know the signs and symptoms and know my brain well. We’ve become besties. It’s going to be different for those with a mental illness and those without because they don’t have to worry about OCD sneak attacks 😂 They don’t have sticky thoughts, nor do they have obsessive tendencies.

I’m new to erp but I think it’s all about the way you respond, not the concern itself. It has more to do with recognising patterns related to OC behaviour :) so I guess you’ll eventually learn what should be an actual cause of concern and what has been made up by your brain

Very helpful post. Thanks for expressing yourself. I do have same questions. I am in my 2nd month of erp and kind of recognize what my brain does when it goes to compulsive stuff so I can observe those thoughts and let them be. One more helpful tool is using your response preventive messages. These would help you from your thoughts building up further so they cut down the compulsive train of thoughts and feelings