Alyssa1995

Date posted: 2y

Fear of fear feeling

So I’ve been doing really well in managing my OCD, but recently it’s morphed into fear of a feeling of fear. I don’t really have a specific thought in mind, but I can just feel so much anxiety in my body physically - nausea, tension in my jaw, and just an all over feeling of unease and it’s really scaring me. I’m doing my best to “sit with it”, but it doesn’t seem to be dissipating. Any tips / can anyone relate? What is some good ERP to do for this?

anam

Date posted: 2y

Just had a session with my therapist about this. A good take away for me was: try not to “figure out” why the fear is there, this just perpetuates the cycle. Acknowledge the symptoms and then reengage with your values. I know it’s easier said than done… I am intentionally doing exposures I know will bring on the uncomfortable feelings so that I can practice just sitting with them and not trying to make them go away. Much easier said than done, but I feel ya.

msyed

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@anam Thank you for this! Yes I agree, forgot about the point of not figuring out the answer to our ocd thoughts, just accept it’s there and sit with it

Alyssa1995

Date posted: 2y

@anam Thank you so much for this!! I feel so much less alone in this now

Date posted: 2y

@anam This is brilliant advice and my psych said the same. I relapsed because of this: had been relatively ocd free for a year, and then out of the blue I became anxious. No specific thoughts, but before I knew it, I was searching for a reason to be anxious. My HOCD came straight back in and I’m currently being treated for a relapse. Key for me - I can’t control the part of my brain that makes me feel anxious. It’s chemical. What I can control is my reaction to it. Rinse, repeat.

anam

Date posted: 2y

@gp I am also in the midst of a relapse, I totally understand where you’re coming from. Oddly enough, I feel hopeful realizing that I am mostly struggling because of the constant fear of anxiety. I know that if I do the work to start to change my relationship to the anxiety, I can perhaps start to dig myself out of this relapse hole. Sending you healing thoughts!

Alyssa1995

Date posted: 2y

@anam Love this outlook!!

Alyssa1995

Date posted: 2y

@anam Learning to engage with anxiety is so helpful. Being afraid of it is what keeps us in this unhealthy loop

anam

Date posted: 2y

@Alyssa1995 It’s so simple but SO hard! It was so easy for me to say “but I’m doing the exposures! I’m willing to put myself in any exposure! I’ve done all of the things!”… to then be reminded that yes, I am doing the hard things, but I’m white knuckling through the whole thing Hoping it’ll make my anxiety disappear. And we know what happens when you want to badly for it to go away 🫠❤️ we got this! Sending healing thoughts. Thank you for sharing your experience, it makes it easier for a lot of us to feel understood.

Alyssa1995

Date posted: 2y

@anam EXACTLY! I’m always sitting and doing something like working, cooking, whatever it may be when I’m alone with my thoughts and I think to myself “I don’t feel 100% right, I’m sitting with it but it’s not going away” and that’s because I’m putting in EFFORT to force it away, when in reality I should be practicing non engagement responses and just moving along. Obviously so much easier said than done, but I’m hopeful that we can do it! People with OCD are stronger than most. Thanks so much for your wonderful insight as well ❤️😊

msyed

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

I also sometimes I’m just anxious about being anxious. literally as we speak, I don’t have much advice as I’m also trying to figure things out, but I do know we just have to continue to sit with it and allow it to be there, and it will soon pass

Ellsx

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

I’m definitely feeling this right now, I’ve worked through all of my OCD themes but this is one that seems to be very present for me and extremely hard to manage. You’re not alone ❤️

Alyssa1995

Date posted: 2y

@Ellouise Omg same! I used to think harm ocd was awful, but this one is particularly sticky because it’s very “meta”, as in it’s tough for me to do exposures because I can’t always replicate the feelings

Ellsx

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@Alyssa1995 we are in exactly the same boat!!

Mariabae

Date posted: 24w

i feel stuck and with no feeling or emotions

i feel like I can’t even enjoy time with my boyfriend anymore. No matter what we do, I’m constantly analyzing, checking, and questioning if I love him, if I feel anything, if I even want to be with him. It’s exhausting. I don’t feel happy, I don’t feel present, and I don’t know how to fix it. I’ve read about ERP, and I know it’s supposed to help, but I don’t know how to start. I feel like my fears are too real, like maybe this isn’t just ROCD—maybe I actually don’t love him, and I’m just scared to accept it. It feels like I’m lying to myself. I know my compulsions: I constantly check my feelings, analyze past memories, compare my relationship to others, and seek reassurance. I know I’m supposed to stop doing these things, but what do I do instead? What do I do when the thoughts hit me with full force and I feel completely numb? I’m scared to sit with the uncertainty. I’m scared that if I stop checking, I’ll realize I don’t love him. I want to do ERP, but I don’t even know where to begin. Has anyone successfully gone through this? How do you deal with the fear when it feels so real?

anxietypoops

Date posted: 23w

The RP in ERP

Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.

taylorrpaigee

Date posted: 16w

Any tips?

This is my first time posting - I have a fear of throw up and I’ve been told it is cause from my OCD (repetitive thoughts) which makes sense because if someone gets sick it replays over and over again and I can’t get it out of my head. It’s gotten a lot worse in the past maybe two years. I’m always on edge that someone is going to get sick around me. I’ve heard the “best or most common” way to help with this is exposure therapy and OBVIOUSLY I don’t want to do that. Anyone have any tips or anything for this (or maybe have done the exposure therapy)?

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond

Fear of fear feeling

Related posts

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Be a part of the largest OCD Community