mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

Embracing Uncertainty

Hi Team, So I just got into researching uncertainty with OCD and right now I'm trying to sit with a thought that is uncertain. It may happen it may not. What's causing my stress is seeing if it'll happen or not in the next moment. I have just been thrown into this recently and haven't been able to start proper therapy (yet). There is a mental health crisis in England at the moment, so my parents are trying everything they can. I'm really desperate. The thought has to do with a topic I mentioned in an earlier discussion (whether a god will send me or my family somewhere horrible in the next moment for whatever reason) and I'm trying the 'it might happen it might not' tactic. But the very possibility that I don't know it might happen is scaring me. It's funny how I can recognize this thought as delusional, yet still obsess over it. Does this stuff get better and how can I sit with my uncertainty? There are no compulsions to remove this uncertainty that exist, just the dread that it might or might not happen. Help would be appreciated, thank you.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

What I’m learning in therapy so far is that you do have to sit with that uncertainty, push through that discomfort…. And with time and repetition you’ll see that you CAN handle that discomfort of not knowing. It’s hard. SO hard. But I have found it (slowly) to get better over time.

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

Thank you for this comment. I completely dread the thought coming true and any notion of uncertainty keeps me on edge. How long did it take for the discomfort to fade? For me, the thought could take place at any moment.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@mantradragon Several months (for each obsessive thought Ive had). I started ERP therapy a few months ago and I’m noticing now that I’m hindsight it’s gotten much more tolerable than before. Still difficult, but tolerable.

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

@Anonymous Thank you. What could an ERP therapy involve for the irrational fear of being transported to a horrible place by some divine power at any moment, (I know this might be a difficult question to answer, so it's not directed at you specifically but anyone who might be able to help)

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

@Anonymous Thank you for the help so far.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@mantradragon From my experience with ERP, it would be you saying out loud, “I could be transported to a horrible place at any moment” numerous times in a row every day. And then changing that to “I WILL be transported, etc.” And then you have to sit through the discomfort of saying that out loud. I’m not an OCD specialist though, so I highly recommend seeking ERP therapy with someone who is!

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

@Anonymous Oh ok, thanks a lot!

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

@Anonymous Doing an uncertainty thing now, seems to be working for a bit. Remaining hopeful. Thank you ever so much for your support - you have really helped me.

noneuclidean

Date posted: 2y

I’m sorry your struggling with this. It can take awhile for the anxiety to go down. Accept the uncertainty and do the opposite action from what ocd wants you to do. Don’t just sit there waiting for the anxiety to go down. Take the anxiety with you. Get up and do something you value. Checking to see if the anxiety goes down can be a compulsion itself! Hang in there.

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

This is so useful and what I need right now, thank you.

Steven55!

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

I understand that NOCD has therapists who accept international clients. They even have their practices set up to compensate for the time zone differences. Maybe you can call NOCD and arrange for consultation. I know the fees aren't covered under your NHS, but the monetary rate of exchange favors the UK, so it can't hurt to check it out.

mantradragon

Date posted: 2y

Will possibly do, thank you!

eugeniodepalo

Date posted: 25w

Double standards for certainty?

Do you ever feel like people without OCD have an easy time just saying “you need to accept uncertainty” only because they’re not subject to the same level of fear and anxiety as an OCD sufferer would? I feel like they don’t really accept uncertainty, they’re just naturally more certain about things. For example, if you ask anyone whether they think their loved ones are real or not, they will never answer with “maybe, but I’ll never know for sure”. They’ll just say “of course they are”. Isn’t that what certainty is? For me, as I’ve been suffering from existential OCD most of my adult life, such a question absolutely terrifies me. The mere thought of my loved ones and the world not being real sends me into a spiral of anxiety and depression and never ending certainty-seeking behavior. I just can’t stand the thought of that horrible scenario being true. How can one accept uncertainty about such a thought, when it completely undermines all my values and beliefs and world view? Can non-OCD sufferers really accept those nighmarish scenarios? Am I misunderstanding what ERP and therapy is about?

Anonymous

Date posted: 19w

Any tips for leaning in to uncertainty

I need tips on how to really accept the uncertainty the ocd causes, even if it feels so bad like I might get in trouble for something , do I wanna be okay with that?

Ih8ocd!

Date posted: 15w

Uncertainty

Hi All, just wondering if anyone here has any tips with dealing with uncertainty? My OCD centres on my being worried that I have committed a crime and can’t remember doing so, I was out last weekend and my mind is telling me I attacked somebody as I got an intrusive thought to do so when passing them in a bar, my therapist says I need to sit with the uncertainty that maybe I did and maybe I didn’t and have to be ok with that But if the answer is yes then how can I be ok with committing a crime and going to jail??, it’s affecting my relationship and I’m going on holiday on Friday and I’m worried it will ruin that, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

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