weebs15
- Date posted
- 5y
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
Feelings are not facts. Remind yourself of this each time. “I’m feeling X. But that does not make X true.” There are two cognitive distortions at play here: emotional reasoning (thinking something must be true because you “feel” it so strongly) and magnifying (exaggerating the importance of something). When this happens, label the distortion and see if you can come up with a more reasonable assessment of the thought you’re struggling with. “I feel X very strongly right now. But the strength of this feeling doesn’t make it any more or less true.” And “This thought makes me think X must be true. But one does not necessarily lead to the other. They could be related. Or they could not.”
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
Here’s an example of throught restructuring vs reassurance Thought: “I am feeling X very strongly right now so it must be true.” Reassurance: “I just did a bunch of internet research that confirms X is in fact 100% not true. Now I can finally relax.” (Relaxation lasts briefly...) “I’m feeling X super strongly again, what if that means Y is true instead...” **seeks more reassurance online** repeat. Through restructuring: “I am feeling X very strongly right now, and that makes me want to believe it’s true. But that is emotional reasoning. The strength of this feeling doesn’t make it any more or less true. I am uncertain what’s true and I accept that.” **sits with anxiety until it naturally subsides**
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
It’s not reassurance to remind yourself that your feelings/thoughts may not be true. It would be reassurance to try to prove to yourself that they are 100% false.
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
Anytime your OCD says, “X might be true” say “yeah, maybe! But maybe not.” If you start believing it (ie “it feels so real, it must be true!”) restructure the thought (ie “hey that’s emotional reasoning! I’m feeling X strongly, but that doesn’t make it true or false. I can’t be certain based on this feeling and I accept that.”)
AnonymouseAnonymouse
- Date posted
- 5y
Allow them to come. Do not push, that is the biggest mistake and struggle that you will not be able to overcome yet. Allow them to come.
weebs15weebs15
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you!! Does this count as self reassuring?
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
Thought** restructuring
weebs15weebs15
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you! So with the whole uncertainty thing...what if I know for sure the thoughts aren’t real, how would uncertainty play into that? Like I know it’s not real and it’s just my ocd but my ocd continues to tell me it might be true...?
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
Your original post said that these thoughts feel real to you, you’re attaching meaning to them, and they’re causing you distress. So it doesn’t sound to me like you know for sure they’re not real, or you’d just let them pass and not care about them. Uncertainty is how you fight that nagging doubt that they “might” be true that makes you do compulsions to be sure.
weebs15weebs15
- Date posted
- 5y
Gotcha thank you!!
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- Date posted
- 24w
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- Date posted
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skylarf09$
- Date posted
- 18w
How to stop reacting to intrusive thoughts?
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.
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