I want to beat my intrusive thoughts

Im constantly looking for reassurance online and to see if I can beat these intrusive thoughts or if I'm stuck with them forever. I always seem to find lots of different answers some being positive success stories and then some negative ones which then make me lose hope . I've definitely been doing some erp as I laugh off the thoughts in my head and expose what ever the thought might be but I get scared thinking for how long am I going to be doing this and when will the thoughts not enter my head anymore so I can live a normal life and be the happy joker that I was . My intrusive thoughts are often around my children and they can be sexual or violent . I know I wouldn't ever hurt my children in anyway but it makes me angry just having the thoughts .

Username: VGHVGH

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

Hi there, so often what happens when we are recovering from OCD is that we have the initial thoughts/fears, then there are other thoughts/fears that also pop up (am I going to recover? am I doing ERP/therapy the correct way?) treat these additional thoughts/fears/doubts the same way. Don't look for reassurance for them either. It's still more of the same, uncertainty. Allow there to be doubt "Maybe I will always have this doubt" don't research, that is reassurance seeking which is a compulsion. I believe these are secondary spikes or backdoor spikes. Stephen Phillipson talks about them.

Username: CopingwithOCD CopingwithOCD

Date posted: 1y ago

One thing I want to say is intrusive thoughts will never go away. They will always be there, because everyone gets them and everyone is human as well. Intrusive thoughts are normal, and they are not you or your values or your character. OCD attacks what you value the most, which is why it gives you anxiety as well as makes you feel angry or sad or whatever it is you may be feeling. Give them uncertainty vs certainty. “Yeah that may happen, it has before, who knows.” Once that happens, don’t avoid. Do things you would normally do and sit with the distress. As you sit, you realize that nothing actually happens. OCD wants you to ruminate and feed it, the more you give the more it wants. Recovery is possible, and I hope the best for you. You can do this.

Username: braders37braders37

Date posted: 1y ago

I've got Rid of Intrusive thoughts before though. But this time there more consistent... I know we all get the odd I trusive thought from time to time but then there normally quickly got rid of ...but when there consistent how do you beat ...so I'm not getting it all the time and so I just have the odd one like any other human being ?

Username: CopingwithOCD CopingwithOCD

Date posted: 1y ago

@braders37 It’s not necessarily “beating” the intrusive thoughts. Like I said, they’ll always be there. It’s about making the intrusive thoughts not as loud. Someone with OCD, the intrusive thoughts are consistent, I get them every single day. Before, I would spend my day having mental compulsions and wouldn’t even go anywhere. Now, I can do things I enjoy, with the intrusive thoughts still there. They’re consistent but not loud. I know they’re not important, which takes practice don’t get me wrong. It took me an entire month to get to this place and at times i’m still crying at night, or wanting to have a panic attack during the day. I’m not perfect with my progress, but it’s there. You will get there too. I know it’s hard not to feel guilty or ashamed of the thoughts, but the less attention you give the more you realize that they are just background noise.

Username: braders37braders37

Date posted: 1y ago

Thanks for your message do appreciate it .. I've heard that you can get it so you don't have them everyday...and to be honest there has been days where I don't have them .. I just accept them now rather then let it torture me .... I don't have Intrusive thoughts with everyone just my kids which is bad enough ... have you had any erp ? Who taught you coping skills ?

Username: CopingwithOCD CopingwithOCD

Date posted: 1y ago

@braders37 I usually only get intrusive thoughts with my family or my boyfriends family. OCD unfortunately attacks who we care and what we care about the most. I was dealing with harm intrusive thoughts and now i’m dealing with pocd, because of my values when it comes down to children. I literally work with kids so it makes this even harder for me, or I have nieces and nephews. I have been in ERP for a month so my therapist has taught me these coping skills. Trust me, I still find myself ruminating but honestly not as often. It’s still hard, but I am slowly getting my life back, and there are moments where i won’t have any intrusive thoughts.

Username: braders37braders37

Date posted: 1y ago

@CopingwithOCD If u don't mind me asking what sort of coping skills have they taught you ? Are you able to share any of them with me ? The thing is I have one doctor saying its ocd and another saying its just anxiety and that they will go . Many thanks

Username: CopingwithOCD CopingwithOCD

Date posted: 1y ago

@braders37 I went to see a psychiatrist before coming to NOCD and they also said it was anxiety, but everyone gets anxiety. I knew something was off with myself so that’s when I came here. Some coping skills I have gained is first off giving my OCD uncertainty, it has helped me so much. Next, I let the anxiety just sit and honestly allow it to overwhelm me because I know that it will pass. From there, I’ll hang out with my family, watch a movie, go on a walk with my dog. Family especially helps, and even going on my phone. Social media can be a nice break lol, thank god it’s there. Honestly, I wouldn’t really recommend meditation because having OCD makes it hard to quiet your mind 😂. Hope this helps!

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 24w ago

Intrusive thoughts

Hello everyone. My name is Cathy and I have severe intrusive thoughts that seem to come out of no where. However only one thought at a time. I fixate on that scary thought for days and days and my anxiety builds up and up. I try to then attack the suggested catastrophic thought such I may have this disease or going to die from that disease or rot in hell etc. scary thoughts always. I try and do a ton of research on line to counter attack the thought trying to prove it wrong and this helps me but if I can’t find something that proves I won’t get the disease or have it already or prove other things too depending on what the thought is, it doesn’t help at all and can make it worse. Is anyone out there experiencing what I have. I don’t have ocd cleaning or washing or checking but have intrusive scary thoughts.

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 23w ago

(PLEASE READ) feeling helpless

*PLEASE READ* I’ve been struggling with bad harm intrusive thoughts for a couple years now. They’ll go away for a couple of months then get triggered by something and start all over again. As much as I try to tell myself that I would never act on these thoughts I have a memory from when I was little that I was going to hurt my parents in their sleep and that memory has haunted me till now. Of course I didn’t hurt them but I thought it and I feel so guilty about it today that it makes me sick to my stomach. I love my parents so much and would never want to hurt them or anybody. I just want these thoughts to go away because they don’t line up with my values of who I am. But every time I tell myself that my thoughts are not facts that memory pops up making me feel like an awful person. I feel right now as if I don’t deserve any love from anyone because of these thoughts. I’m a believer of God and I feel as if I don’t deserve his love as well and that he has given up on me. These thoughts have also turned into a new theme of being scared I’m actually crazy and going into a psychosis. I’m just so scared and just want to be normal. As much as I tell myself ocd lies to you these thoughts have really scared me and I haven’t felt like myself in days. I’ve also struggled with health anxiety and intrusive suicidal thoughts. I know seeking reassurance isn’t good but I’m so scared.

Username: malevvolent

Date posted: 22w ago

pleas help me

I dont know if I have ocd really but I think I do because I have the intrusive thoughts and I always try and do things to soothe the anxiety. I've been dealing with this for a few months and this is a debilitating cycle and I wish I wad normal. when I first spoke to my therapist about it, she said that people with ocd like to clean and count a certain amount of tiles and stuff like that. I really want to get tested because I want help but im scared that if they say I don't have ocd then that means my intrusive thoughts are true and that I'm the person that my mind makes me think I am and it scares me. I mostly deal with symptoms of pocd so I try my best to avoid kids and sometimes I won't even want to go in public because of it and I count in my head a lot and try and see if my body is reacting any kind of way. I also try and just push the thoughts a way and do research and sometimes it makes me feel better but in reality it's just a cycle and it's terrifying so can someone please comfort me or give me advice and tips to help me feel better because I really need it. I just want to get help and stop this cycle because it's slowly killing me. I don't want to be the person my head thinks I am but in my head it's just constant fear anxiety and uncertainty.

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I want to beat my intrusive thoughts

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