- Date posted
- 2y
How to Overcome
How do you practice overcoming these thoughts? I read that accepting, allowing it to exist without interaction can help, but I don’t know how to apply it or how long it can last
How do you practice overcoming these thoughts? I read that accepting, allowing it to exist without interaction can help, but I don’t know how to apply it or how long it can last
Someone once told me that thoughts are kind of like social media. You can scroll through and see each one, but you have the decision of whether or not you want to interact with it. Sometimes weird posts come up, so you just keep scrolling. Thoughts are out of our control. Everyone gets silly thoughts but people with OCD are prone to interact with them. Maybe try just "scrolling" through your thoughts and taking a second to think if you feel the need to "like" or "comment" or "share" each one. Not sure if that will help you but it was helpful for me some days
@ohseedee8 I really like that analogy and I feel like that is a really helpful way to think.
@seagoat i know it's cheesy but hopefully this works for you!
I think one of the most helpful things we can learn is that OCD isn't a 'thought disorder'. In other words, we don't need to do anything to get rid of the thoughts- it is our belief that the thoughts may mean something or that we need to 'do' something (compulsions) to get rid of them or neutralize them that is the real problem.
Often the harder someone with OCD fights the thoughts or tries to push them out of their mind, the stronger they get. Accepting them while not engaging is often more effective. Try to allow yourself to have the thought and respond with a neutral statement like “thanks OCD” or “maybe it’s true maybe it’s not” without engaging any more or less than that. I know easier said than done, but with time and practice it does get better. You may find the attached article helpful too.
@Lisa LeeLou I don’t see an article attached but I appreciate the words a lot. I’m gonna try this.
Sorry I forgot to attach it. https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/info/ocd-stats-and-science/do-intrusive-thoughts-mean-anything
How do you guys get past the anxiety? I feel like my thoughts are the only thing that control my mind. So often I feel like I should just leave my partner even tho I love them so much because I just feel like these thoughts are too much. I over analyze everything. I feel so stuck and defeated. I just want to be normal. I feel so toxic for the thoughts that I have
How do I stop letting my intrusive thoughts control me? Ive been having them for almost a year, once I graduated, become more isolated and lost more friends they've become worse. I feel like when I had friends and was still going to school they weren't as bad probably because I was living more so I didn't take them as seriously. But now that Im home all day and alone they've gotten worse and it feels like they're starting to control my life. Theres times where Im on social media and eventually I forget about them but then when I realize I forgot about them they come back. Sometimes the thought just lingers it doesn't even just pop in my head and go away. I can't tell anyone in my family because they'd judge me for the thoughts and they don't really believe in mental illnesses. I also sometimes think of what other people may think of me if they knew the thoughts I had and it makes it worse. How do I stop letting these thoughts control/trigger me and stop reacting or feeling some type of way about them.
Here is what I say to people: I wish I could make it stop. I really do. I also wish I could stop tinnitus. What is tinnitus, you may ask? Well, have you ever gone to a loud concert and after it had a ringing in your ears. Or, in movies when a loud explosion hears, first it is often muffled, and then there is a very loud ringing sound. Well, I have hear that sound for over 30 years. Turns out the medications I took as a kid for allergies and all the antibiotics I was on for Strep had a side effect for some people - tinnitus - that sound that I have heard every decade, year, month, day, hour, and second, for the past 30 years. I have learned to live with it. As I type this, it is REALLY loud, because I am paying attention to it. But, in a few minutes it will fade into the background, and, while I will hear it, I will not pay much attention to it, and therefore I will go on with my night. I will listen to music, practice my story for the MOTH radio hour, and work out. I will clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher, and I will eventually get ready for bed. I will go to bed hearing that sound, and fall asleep for a few hours until tomorrow morning when I start the day all over again. I cannot make the sound stop. There is nothing to do for it - no surgery or medication. Just learning to live with it, and that is what I have done. It is the thing that I hate the most in my life, and, if granted three wishes, it would be the first thing to change. For now, as I have for 30 years, I will live with it, and I will ask you to live with your noises in your head - the thoughts, the images, and the urges, and we will practice together accepting that things are not always as we want them, but we can handle that. We got this.
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