- Date posted
- 2y
I want to know how I can sit with OCD.
How can I sit with OCD?
How can I sit with OCD?
Just let it be don't pay attention or "talk" back to it . Do something that makes you happy even tho at the moment you might feel like crap eventually it will be easier. I been doing that and it has helped me a lot . Fighting is silence.
You sit with OCD by accepting the thought. For example you do not want to distract yourself. If I have a thought that makes me want to perform an action, or interact with it. I simply say out loud (to myself whispering in public sometimes) “maybe, but I’m not going to figure it out,” “ok, yeah, sure,” “how about I just wait and see. I may feel this way right now, but I’ll check back in with myself later.” “I feel XYZ, but I’m not going to figure it out.” “I may or may not be XYZ,” there is a book called overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts that’s had a lot of helpful information it it. What people with OCD are advised to not do once entering into ERP is interacting with their thoughts in a way that will cause them to do the compulsion so if something is bothering me and I want to Google it for example, I will say something in order for me to not Google it. Or if I have a thought that is really bothersome to me, and it gets stuck in my brain because our thoughts are very sticky when we have OCD I don’t want to spend my time ruminating on all the possible outcomes in my brain. It is easier said than done but I’ve been in therapy since February and have had a lot of help with it.
Try to find something really interesting and distracting
trying to figure that out rn and i’m already so anxious
Yes to all of this! We don't have to accept what the thoughts say (it's probably all lies anyway, because OCD)... We just accept the thoughts are there. And then do something that is values based. Walk the dog(s) or yourself, go outside, clean up one area of your place (unless cleaning is a compulsion for you, then don't do that), see a friend, play a game... whatever you like to do or want to do. Move on with your day. Anxiety & OCD can come along if they want. But you're going to do your thing anyway.
Hi this is my first time posting on here. I wasn't sure if I should because I want to make sure I'm not seeking reassurance because I heard that makes ocd worse. I don't want to talk about what my ocd problem was, but basically I was really upset about a religious ocd problem that I know isn't true. I'm feeling a lot better about it now, but when it was bad I decided to try and get better on my own. I read about ERP therapy and how you're supposed to make a list of your ocd problems, from least distressing to most. So I wrote them down on two pieces of paper. At first I started with the simple ones, like looking for spiders before leaving the room. I have a tendency to look for spiders before leaving a room but lately I've been trying not to anymore. Then I decided to try and do one of the hard things. It was a religious ocd problem. I decided to start simple, and just write the problem down on a piece of paper. So I went downstairs and got some paper. But then I thought, oh no, my ocd is probably not going to like this. What do I do with the paper once I write it down? If I think what I wrote down is bad and going to upset God and I will go to hell, (even though I know logically it's not), my ocd is probably going to freak out if I throw away the paper. It probably won't calm down unless I erase it. So I just decided to not write it down on a paper, and just type it on my phone instead. So I did, I typed it on my phone. So, even though I didn't write anything down on the paper, now it feels like that peice of paper is bad. I feel like it's connected to the problem I was having, and I was so upset I called my mom crying asking her what to do. Eventually I decided to just put the paper back with the rest of the paper downstairs, but I'm still upset. I feel like I have to throw away all the paper downstairs, the pencil I was going to use to write down the problem, and the eraser I was going to use in case I needed to erase anything. It feels like if I use any of those items I will make God angry and go to hell. I know I shouldn't do this though, so I'm not going to. I don't know what to do with the papers where I wrote down my ocd problems. They are on my desk and I'm too afraid to move them. And if I put them in my desk I'm afraid they will get mixed up with other papers. I guess I can do whatever I want with them. I think I'll put them in a folder or binder and if I make any more ocd papers I can just put them in there. I'm just really confused on how to move forward. Right now, I'm too afraid to use the papers, pencil, or eraser for anything. I feel like I can't write on them, draw on them, or anything. It's even making me feel like I can't make digital art. It's making me feel like I can't do a lot of things. I guess what I have to do is just do whatever I want to, because I know the ocd isn't true and doesn't make sense.
How do you sit with anxiety? I wanna check my pulse over and over again. I dunno what caused my anxiety. Now I am just sitting here. Ugh! I feel crazy!
How long do you guys have to sit with a thought for it to go away? I have sat with thoughts for days and days before and the anxiety was crippling to where I couldn’t eat or sleep. Until I asked. And especially something I’ve already asked about before that upsets my husband but my brain was like did I hear him right? Yada yada. That’s about where I’m at right now. I feel so sick from anxiety
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