- Date posted
- 2y
Bad ocd day tips?
Does anyone have any tips/calm down routine/ mental health ritual they do for days where ocd is bad? I’d love some tips.
Does anyone have any tips/calm down routine/ mental health ritual they do for days where ocd is bad? I’d love some tips.
Once OCD has latched onto me, it’s really difficult for me to see past it but something that I have been trying to do is that I meditate so that I can be separated from my thoughts/obsessions. Once I feel a little separated, I become aware of what’s going on in my mind and deliberately do not engage with my thoughts by sitting with the uncertainty and saying “maybe, maybe not” or telling myself that “this problem can’t be figured out” This helps me.
For me I’d watching comedy or getting a massage
Going to the gym works really well for me! On my horrible OCD days sometimes a friend is all you need and a nice cup of tea. Don’t be so hard on yourself, not every day will feel victorious, OCD recovery isn’t linear but you will get there 😌
Self compassion has helped me a lot - oftentimes I would realize on bad ocd days that I had been isolating myself from people who loved me and that I hadn’t felt loved in a while. Taking the time to tell yourself that you are loved (and it helps me to think of memories of when I felt that way) will help actually increase the serotonin in your brain! Know that you are not alone and that we all have days like this ❤️ you can get through this 🤗
Any tips on how to deal with the rollercoaster of good and bad days with OCD? I had such a good day yesterday with tackling my compulsions and rumination. I tend to get up in the mornings and my OCD loves to start immediately. It becomes frustrating when you feel like you made progress, only to go right back to where you were. Any positive encouragement of how you’ve dealt with this would be appreciated!
My ocd is hard today- it’s been two weeks focusing on the same ocd thoughts and countless checking repetitively. Any suggestions?
As a 20+ year OCD vet and OCD conqueror. I wanted to share some tips and tricks that help me. 1. A thought is not the same as a belief. You can think something, and not believe it in the slightest. 2. Thoughts DO NOT represent ANYTHING. They are not indicators to who we are as people, they are pop up ads for the brains computer. 3. We DO NOT control our thoughts! The average person has about 60,000 ( yes, 4 zeros) a day! NONE of which are controlled. 4. We DO have control over which of those 60k thoughts are important. i.e. thought A. I could murder my entire household- survey says? not important ( because yea, sure, you could, but you probably don't really want to) thought B. i need to do my laundy-survey says? important... unfortunately, i hate laundry. which brings me to number 5. 5. Emotional reasoning ( where you let your feelings impact your decisions) is a COGNITIVE DISTORTION. It is a flawed thought process and should NEVER be used. "wanting to do something" does not mean you SHOULD do it, same and sometimes NOT wanting to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it ( picked what is important) my brain might tell me i WANT to break up with my husband, ( unimportant) and it might also say i don't want to get up and go to work in the morning ( important). 6. YOU-ARE-IN-CONTROL. Not to be confused with HAVING control. We don't control our thoughts, we control which ones are important, we don't control our feelings or emotions, but we control how to react (or not react) to them. We don't control our OCD, but we can control how it affects our lives, and that can mean that is has all the power, or none. 7. If the action you want to do ( confess, get reassurance, check, analyze, avoid, re-do) are to gain relief from anxiety, IT IS A COMPULSION. DO NOT DO IT. Sit with the anxiety and train your brain to realize its not dangerous or important with ERP ( this takes time, but practice makes perfect) 8. Know your enemy. NOCD has a HUGE amount of articles and information on ALL subtypes of OCD and how to respond and how to treat them. OCD is MUCH easier to combat when you understand how it works. 9. BE PATIENT. BE KIND to yourself. Prioritize healthy habits, a healthy body is better equipped to handle OCD. Good sleep, whole foods, sunlight, social interaction, exercise ( walking especially). When the mind feels weak, make the body strong. 10. You are not alone. OCD is classified by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 most distressing disorders. Reach out to people, seek medical help. Medication is not evil, it can be life-saving, TALK to people. Bonus Tips * if the question is " What If" its OCD. * Total certainty does not exist, be content with 99%* *"But this feels different, this feels like its not OCD, that its real*- emotional reasoning... its OCD. Hang in there. You got this. Im here for any advice, questions, or support. Today is a great day to have a GREAT DAY.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond