- Username
- Heal36
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Yes me.
All the darn time. I honestly don't know how to stop it, but I distract myself by listening to music or watching a favorite movie. I have a really hard time with repeating the same things over and over in my mind and I journal that out. It doesn't always work, but sometimes if I just write the thoughts out I can let it go. Otherwise, it is not uncommon for me to spend several hours repeating the same things in my mind.
What you are describing is why I think "Pure O" is an unhelpful concept. What you are describing are mental compulsions. Here is an article by a prominent clinician explaining what I mean: http://beyondocd.org/expert-perspectives/articles/pure-o-fact-or-fiction
The last paragraph addresses treatment of obsessions with mental compulsions.
Thanks everyone, David thanks for the article I will read it.
BTW one quick clarification, when I said pure O I didn't mean I don't deal with compulsions. Pure O is a mislabeling of the problem, I just use it to explain the fact that most of my compulsions are mental behaviors and not external, like handwashing, door locking ect. I believe they used pure O to explain people who from the outside looking in don't deal with compulsions, but that is far from the reality.
Does anyone have advice for magical thinking OCD? For instance i can’t have an intrusive thought while doing something because then i have to go back and do it while having a good / safe thought to counteract the bad one. Anyone else struggle with this? Some input would be great.
Does anyone else experience arguments in their head when it comes to their thoughts? I find that I'm constantly going back and forth when I have compulsions, where two sides of my brain will argue with each other. I may argue "logically" against the fears I may have, but then I'll remember some past event or something I've done in the past that will lead me to believe otherwise. It's a chaotic cycle I'm trying to deal with, but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this/has ideas pertaining to getting out of it? It really messes with my head after a while, because I feel like the side of my brain that is telling me I'm a bad person almost always wins. Every time I try to reassure myself by addressing the fact that my thoughts are unwanted and irrational, I feel like more rational proof of me being a terrible person comes rushing into my head.
Hey every body, I'm looking for some advice specific to pure O ocd. 1. My therapist has given me some response phrases to practice for my intrusive thoughts, the ones I'm using are mainly "maybe maybe not", " sure whatever", "your probably right" and "I don't have to figure this out right now". My main concern is using these phrases two often or so broadly that they become compulsive. 2. Since most of my compulsions are mental I find it difficult to control them. Sometimes my brain will automatically reassure itself or reflexibly perform a compulsion without me even wanting to engage with it. If anyone who struggles with/has struggled with this has any tips or advice I'd really appreciate it
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