Hi everyone, I just have a quick question. Can intrusive thoughts latch onto actual people. I notice when I don’t engage in my usual themed obsessions I get new on (with the same theme) but different people. It’s out of the blue too, and that’s why I think I react so much. How can I respond to these thoughts?
Oh for sure, my OCD has latched onto actual people a number of times. For me it's helpful to maintain awareness when these "new" obsessions/intrusive thoughts come up, and to keep space for whatever distress or discomfort arises without engaging in any mental compulsions to try and get rid of it. I find that if I acknowledge the obsession but don't engage with it it usually goes away on its own after awhile. Good distraction (like getting engaged with your life) is helpful in this regard!
@Day at a time yeah I noticed that it’s definitely new and definitely apart of my theme. Now I’m just fighting with the urges to do compulsions because it feel so real😩
Ugh that's the worst, I'm sorry! Try and ride the wave out and let it all pass on its own, remember that just because it feels real/bad/whatever doesn't mean it actually or always is, so there's nothing to protect yourself from. Good luck!
Hi, I was told OCD can latch onto anything, and I’m here to that is so true! Initially, when something came up that was different in terms of my theme, I’d try and prove to myself it was just my ocd. Sometimes I didn’t even recognize it as ocd (initially that is). Now, I realize it’s not specific to my theme, but just uncertainty. I saw this today, kinda helpful OCD: The Best, Most Absurd Way to Greet an Obsession
@VGH https://youtu.be/It2SkPKN0Ns Here is the link
Hey, yep OCD lovessssss morphing and changing when we have give up giving previous obsessions any power! It’s great hearing how you aren’t engaging with previous obsessions and I’d say to treat these new compulsions the same. Ignore them, sit with that anxiety and welcome exposures. Your OCD will need 100000000% certainty all of the time, when we don’t engage with this and accept that we can’t have 100000% certainty then our OCD goes back in it’s little box where it belongs. Keep doing exposures each day until you know your no longer needing to do them. You’ve got this, your string and you can live a happy life without OCD…. Remember this 🙂
I need to know if someone else experience this because I think this may be the root of some of my ocd themes. So basically even when I don't really have a theme going on I get intrusive thoughts of different topics. For example if I'm reading an article about a person with ADHD my mind tells that maybe I have adhd and because if I had I'd be different, and it feels like I want to even though I don't do because I know how destressing it is to live with such disorders and who would ever want to develop a disorder like that. I get intrusive thoughts like about illnesses, identities and other things and my mind says that I have to have those things because they would make me different and my mind wanted me to be different in that way. And it felt like I wanted those things even tho I know how terrible they affect people and didn't really wanted to have them. Now it tells me the same thing about gender and sexuality that I have to be different in that way while I don't and it's causing me hocd right now. I guess this is my final answer but I wanted to know if somebody else experienced something like this. Like sometimes I get depressive episodes because of my anxiety and ocd but once I became obsessed with the idea of having chronic severe depression and I got so anxious but then felt relieved when I didn't but then my intrusive thoughts would pop up here and there
DO YOU HAVE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT CERTAIN PEOPLE? Like, a specifical person that annoys you more than the others that show in your intrusive thoughts. Because of that, it feels as if I actually were attracted to that person, I can't take this.
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